How EV Chargers Helped Spark a Flexibility Revolution

The rise of battery systems and optimization software has undeniably changed the game in the energy sector. But most people don’t know the Nordic flexibility boom all started with EV chargers, partly launched through a trial-and-error partnership between two pioneering energy innovators.

In 2020, a company called Krafthem emerged on the Swedish energy scene. Spotting an opportunity to transform EVs and EV chargers – a large and rapidly growing global energy consumption source – into a flexible energy asset to stabilize the volatile grid, the company went on to inspire a national, and eventually pan-European, flexibility movement. That company later became known as Flower.

“We were one of the first actors in the Swedish market to introduce EV charger optimization to the Swedish TSO Svenska Kraftnät, receiving approved prequalification status as early as 2021. As the first optimizer to successfully trade with EV chargers on the FCR-D market in Sweden, we carried this innovation forward to Denmark through our partnership with leading EV platform Monta,” says Hedda Brickstad, Flower’s VP of Distributed Assets.

“We were intrigued by Flower’s bold and ambitious vision to transform the energy landscape”

– Alex Iriondo, Product Manager at Monta

United to challenge the status quo

Alex Iriondo is the Product Manager of the Grid Services department at Monta. He and his team realized early on the potential of EV charger optimization, and how this technology could provide a new revenue stream while contributing to a stabilized grid. Together with the Monta team, he began scouting the Nordic market for an optimizer that would best serve this interest. After careful consideration and investigating several large yet inexperienced actors for the innovative task, the decision finally fell on a Swedish disrupting company: Flower.

“Back then, Monta and Flower were two smaller companies wanting to challenge the status quo of the energy system. This common ground united us, and since Flower was already a pioneer in Sweden in EV charger optimization, the decision to partner up felt natural. Our collaboration became a real trial-and-error process to figure out how EV chargers could serve the Danish energy system’s needs. After several discussions back and forth with Denmark’s TSO Energinet, the new innovation finally entered the market in 2023,” says Alex.

“This revenue stream has helped us grow our operation and maintain our position as a leading EV platform in Europe”

– Alex Iriondo, Product Manager at Monta

Why EV charging companies need optimizers

The partnership, which started as a pilot, quickly grew as the two first-mover companies prospered. Monta tripled its workforce in just a few years and Flower grew its optimized EV charger portfolio with Monta by over 60 times. Moreover, the two companies successfully went on to fulfill their primary goal: To make EV chargers a natural part of the energy ecosystem.

Reflecting on the collaboration, Alex Iriondo is proud of having built something new and groundbreaking together with Flower:

“Our partnership has been a successful one, though bringing this innovation to the market hasn’t always been the smoothest ride. I guess that’s how it goes when you are at the forefront challenging the natural laws of an industry. Flower is an important flexibility partner to us, ensuring the energy from our EV charge points can be optimized and traded efficiently while delivering revenue. As a result, this revenue stream has helped us grow our operation and maintain our position as a leading EV platform in Europe.”

Monta