The University of Cyprus has launched a new project in partnership with Cyprus Public Transport towards developing a next-generation energy management solution for renewable-powered and battery-integrated electric vehicle charging stations.

According to a UCy press release, entitled “EMS4PVBEV”, an acronym for “Advanced AI-Driven Energy Management System for Photovoltaic-Powered and Battery Integrated Electric Vehicle Charging Stations”, the project represents a dynamic partnership between the PV Technology Laboratory of the University of Cyprus (UCY), and Cyprus Public Transport Services and Operations Ltd (CPT), fusing the scientific expertise of the former with the industrial expertise of the latter.

It is added that the kick-off meeting of the project took place on Tuesday, 16 July 2024 at the University of Cyprus. The project, coordinated by Cyprus Public Transport, secured a total funding of €199,840 and funding for the University of Cyprus of €72,060, in the context of the Call for Proposals for the “Research in Enterprises – Energy” of the “Research in Enterprises” Programme of the Research and Innovation Foundation to support the involvement of a Cypriot enterprise in research, technological development and innovation (RTDI) activities, for the development of a technological solution of high added value that will respond to challenges faced by Cyprus in the energy storage field.

It is also noted that driven by the timely energy transition and climate change challenges, the RTDI focus of the project is on renewable-powered smart Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations coupled with battery storage, which is aligned with the European Green Deal priorities for ensuring a secure and renewable-based energy supply, energy and transport sector decarbonisation, and sustainable mobility. It is within this context that the project will work towards developing a next-generation energy demand management solution for renewable-powered and battery-integrated EV charging stations.

Subsequently, the press release adds, in his project overview at the kick-off meeting, the Project Coordinator and Director of Technology and Innovation at CPT Andreas Demetriades highlighted the project’s main objectives, which he enumerated as enhancing the competitiveness of Cypriot enterprises in the field of storage and Energy Management Systems (EMS), creating a collaborative ecosystem among Cypriot businesses in the energy field, and enhancing knowledge transfer within the Cypriot ecosystem.

Commenting on the new ongoing project, Julio Tironi, CEO of Cyprus Public Transport, and Dr. George E. Georghiou, Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of UCY and Head of the PV Technology Laboratory, both underscored the significance of the above key objectives and especially the potential that project “EMS4PVBEV” brings in strengthening the collaboration and development of synergies between them, as they jointly embark on targeting the research challenges of integrating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and EV, while fostering the energy transition, enhancing the Cyprus economy, and improving life quality.

In this context, "it is anticipated that the overall outcomes of the project will connect and vitally contribute to the island’s ambitious goals as delineated in the National Energy and Climate Plan, to increase the share of renewable energy sources in energy consumption by 2030 – with the share of renewables projected to reach 23% in gross final energy consumption, and 14% in the transport sector."

The kick-off meeting, it says, was attended by key personnel from both CPT and UCY, who will contribute to the research and development activities of the project, as well as to the project management, dissemination, demonstration of the proposed end-solution and business models, while Marinos Photiades, the project’s Scientific Officer from the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation, did also attend the meeting.

The official launch date of the project was 1 July 2024, with the “EMS4PVBEV” project scheduled to run for 18 months. The EMS4PVBEV project is financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the NextGenerationEU instrument through the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (ENTERPRISE/ENERGY/1123/0011).  

For more information on the "EMS4PVBEV" project, interested parties are invited to contact the Project Coordinator, Andreas Demetriades, CPT, at [email protected] or Professor George H. Georgiou, PC, at [email protected], the statement concludes.