New Fleet of Electric Vehicles for Triton Rides Program Drives Pilot Project into Next Phase
University of California San Diego has upgraded its free Triton Rides service to include an electric vehicle (EV) fleet complete with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) integration, an enhanced e-mobility service, with cars provided by San Diego green-tech leader, Nuvve. The collaboration will add five new EVs to the Triton Rides program, which provides a free, nighttime shuttle service available to all UC San Diego students, staff and faculty. In addition, the vehicles’ integration into the Triton Rides fleet will inform the University’s INVENT V2G demonstration project with Nuvve, which leverages bi-directional charging and grid services to optimize unused and renewable energy.
A little over a year ago, UC San Diego and Nuvve announced the INVENT demonstration project, in conjunction with a sizeable grant from the California Energy Commission and partner participation from SDG&E, BMW, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Hitachi. After installing V2G charging stations in parking lots around the campus, Nuvve is now helping to provide e-mobility to the new fleet of EVs being added by the school as part of its Triton Rides program.
“Using Nuvve’s bi-directional EV charging stations, UC San Diego can leverage V2G technology to strategically manage the charging and discharging of the Triton Rides vehicles in order to create a more stable and efficient microgrid,” said Gregory Poilsane, co-founder and CEO of Nuvve. “We are thrilled to provide EVs for Triton Rides and be the bridge between this transportation service and the UC San Diego grid as we work together for a greener, more energy efficient campus.”
Nuvve’s bi-directional EV charging technology enables electricity to flow either way between the campus’s microgrid and its electric vehicles, ultimately reducing the cost of electric vehicle infrastructure with a goal of reducing CO2 emissions. UC San Diego is on track to become carbon neutral by 2020. Nuvve also provides strategic services to the grid that delivers monetary value and harnesses the growing number of renewables, while simultaneously ensuring the vehicle batteries are full and ready to go when they are needed to support the transportation needs of the campus community.
“We’re excited to expand our Triton Rides program,” said UC San Diego Police Sergeant Manuel Garcia, who oversees the campus’ Community Service Officer program. “It’s important that we are not only serving our students and faculty, but also helping the environment by encouraging the adoption of EVs for uses like this in college campus fleets.”
Eventually, the implementation of V2G technology under the INVENT project will enable UC San Diego to manage when and how electricity is drawn from EVs plugged into its charging stations to help power university buildings and facilities, saving both money and energy. The demonstration project also plans to use the university’s solar forecasting technology to inform its EV charging schedule and charge the vehicles with as many “green” electrons as possible.
For more information on the Nuvve and UC San Diego pilot program, please visit https://nuvve.com/portfolio/california-energy-commission/.
