What’s great is that I don’t need any special hardware for it (for participation in the virtual power plant with NeoGrid) – the charging schedule is managed through my car’s standard cloud connection. It really couldn’t be simpler.
At Ostrom, there’s something for everyone: low energy prices with fixed or dynamic rates – combined with fair service and everything in one app. As a customer, it has really paid off for me so far!
The activation was quick, and I was promptly offered the "VPP" (Virtual Power Plant) concept as a test user – which immediately convinced me.
There are two ways your EV can use NeoGrid® AI: directly or via a compatible wallbox.
The following manufacturers are directly compatible with NeoGrid® AI:
VW, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Mini, Cupra, Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Tesla
The following manufacturers are compatible with NeoGrid® AI when combining an EV + charging station:
EV: Ford, Subaru, Alfa Romeo, Mazda, Hyundai, MG, Jeep, Nissan, Kia, Ram, Lancia, Renault, Rivian, Vauxhall, NIO, Volvo, Lexus, XPENG, Lucid, Dacia, and Toyota
Charging stations: go-e, Easee, Charge Amps, Zaptec, Schneider Electric, Wallbox, EO, Hypervolt, Heidelberg, myenergi, Pod Point, and Tesla
Bidirectional charging, or V2G, involves feeding electricity from your EV back into the grid.
NeoGrid® AI works differently: Instead of physically discharging your EV, our virtual power plant does it "virtually." The electricity reserved for your charging process is sold virtually and returned to the grid.
This offers several advantages over bidirectional charging or V2G:
- You don't need a special wallbox.
- (Almost) all EVs are already compatible today, either directly or via a compatible wallbox.
- Since the electricity never actually enters your home, you don't pay grid fees on the electricity sold. This allows you to achieve a higher return than would be possible with V2G.
You can use NeoGrid® AI with all of our electricity plans. However, with our fixed-price plan, SimplyFair, you only benefit from the additional earnings of up to €300.
With our dynamic plan, SimplyDynamic, you also benefit from cost savings by charging only during low-price hours. This allows you to save up to 50% on your electricity costs with NeoGrid® AI.
Electricity generation and consumption in the power grid must always be in balance to ensure a constant grid frequency (50 Hertz in Europe).
However, challenges such as the weather-dependent feed-in of renewable energy and the increasing consumption from EVs, heat pumps, and more make this increasingly difficult.
With your help, NeoGrid® AI provides the grid with the necessary flexibility to balance out fluctuations. This way, you support the grid while earning money.
When you make the flexibility of your EV battery available to the grid, you get rewarded for it. But what does that mean exactly? For every kilowatt-hour you charge with NeoGrid® AI, you receive credit. This is credited to your account the day after your charging session. You then decide whether to spend your credit in the Ostrom Store or have it applied to your electricity bill.
In short: No.
Studies have shown that participating in a virtual power plant like NeoGrid® AI does not harm your EV battery, provided you follow the same precautions as you would with standard charging:
Depth of charge: Avoid charging too much at once. Set a sensible charging limit in the Ostrom app.
Charging target: Charge enough so that you don't drop below 20% for your next trip, but never exceed 80%.
Temperature: To protect your EV from extreme heat and cold, park it in a sheltered location, such as a garage, while charging.
Charging speed: Charge at home (e.g., 11 kW or 22 kW overnight) and only use fast-charging stations when absolutely necessary.
Read more in our blog post: LINK
We integrate with dozens of partner brands and hundreds of devices from various electric vehicles, EV chargers, heat pumps and smart home appliances. Control them all through the Ostrom app, your home energy management platform.
We take pride in providing excellent customer service. But don’t just take our word for it: Hear it from customers who’ve already made the move to Ostrom.
