Hydropower charging with green electricity

Many electric car drivers wish to power their vehicles with clean electricity. Thanks to Juice Power, anyone can now charge their vehicle batteries with verifiably clean hydroelectricity – while it is being produced at the hydroelectric power station! Unlike with conventional green electricity, users get exactly what they pay for: guaranteed renewable energy.

Green energy is not always as green as it seems

Electricity is supplied from different providers via the same network, but has neither colour nor taste. It is therefore impossible to determine how clean the consumed electricity actually is. The solution is to ensure simultaneous production and consumption. As Christoph Erni, founder and CEO of Juice Technology AG, explains: “Instead of establishing a physical connection between the power station and the consumer, we at Juice Power simply employ real-time electronic controls.” Using the j+ pilot app, the vehicle communicates directly with the electricity producer via the backend, so that when the car is drawing electricity, the volume consumed is withdrawn from the selected power station at the exact same time. Unlike with conventional certificates or proof of origin for green electricity, Juice Power can thus guarantee natural energy in real time. And that is the crux of the matter. 

Erni continues: “Energy providers may offer ‘pure hydropower’, but in reality supply coal or nuclear power at the exact time that the electricity is used. But how can this be? The answer to this question is quite shocking: Certificates for clean electricity are, in fact, a sham. Conventional green energy is generated independently of the time of use and is thus only green on the balance sheet. This industry-standard procedure actually tricks the electricity consumer and does absolutely nothing for the environment. Juice Power in the j+ pilot app is now putting an end to this deception.”

A Juice Power plan can also be useful for owners of PV systems. Consumers who produce the necessary charging current at home via their own PV system can only use it a later stage if they have a suitable means of energy storage. If, during the day, the electricity is fed into the grid rather than being used to charge batteries, the production peaks are only intensified. And while you may think that a green electricity tariff allows you to charge vehicle batteries with renewable energy overnight, you will more than likely be using fossil or nuclear power. Yet, when it comes to ensuring that journeys with electric vehicles are always emission-free, we cannot simply offload the pollutant generation to gas- and coal-fired or nuclear power plants. To close this gap, the Juice Power plan now offers the security of charging guaranteed green electricity at all times, without being restricted by the choice of charging network.

j+ pilot as the key to Juice Power

Renewable energy can only be charged and produced at the same time if the supply and demand are well coordinated. To this end, the j+ pilot app registers the exact charging time and volume of electricity consumed and balances this data with the relevant power stations. By acquiring an allotment of green energy generated in real time, every j+ pilot user can easily compensate their own charging current via the app. During each charging process, the relevant volume of electricity is deducted from the acquired allotment, and the user can see directly in the app from which clean power plant the energy has been procured at that precise moment in time. Juice Power guarantees this synchronisation between supply and consumption with the SQS-certified TrueTime label. This ensures carbon neutrality for all future journeys.

Production takes place in classic hydroelectric power stations, which make use of the already existing energy potential and can generate clean energy round the clock. These power stations generate electricity more consistently than photovoltaic plants or wind farms. That is why Juice Power is supporting hydroelectric power stations across Europe with the near-future aim of producing as much electricity from its own plants as Juice Power customers consume in real time.

The key aspects at a glance:

1. Fixed-price green energy: Using the j+ pilot app, Juice Power allows customers to upgrade to certified sustainable hydroelectricity in allotments of 1000 kWh (equating to a driving distance of approx. 5000 km), 2000 kWh (approx. 10,000 km) and 4000 kWh (approx. 20,000 km) for EUR 20, 40 und 80 respectively. This ensures that electric car drivers can charge with guaranteed green electricity anywhere and at any time.
2. TrueTime label: In a break from the norm, the electricity consumed is actually clean, and not just green on the balance sheet. The TrueTime label guarantees that the electricity is produced in a classic hydroelectric power station and fed into the grid at the exact same time that it is consumed.

j+ pilot: The electricity production can be monitored via the j+ pilot app. Users can thus see exactly how much power is available at any given time. The universal app for electromobility provides a complete breakdown of all important vehicle and charging data, clearly arranged at a single location. Customers can gain an overview of all charging procedures, including costs and electricity origin. To enable complete analysis of the energy consumption, the standby consumption or “vampire drain” is also determined. This is supplemented with a journey analysis function as well as an electronic logbook.