We Drive Solar – An inventive durable energy and mobility system

Veere 10 January 2025 2 min.

We Drive Solar makes electric driving with the power of the sun possible for more and more consumers. How? Their growing durable energy and mobility system deploys shared electric cars and charging stations, enabling cars to both charge and discharge. This way the shared electric cars function as batteries on wheels which can store solar energy and later return it to the electricity grid. This enables more efficient use of sustainable solar and wind energy.

Utrecht city is the first municipality in the world that chose to implement this new ecosystem on a large scale. Nowadays, more than 500 charging stations have been installed in 9 of 10 Utrecht city neighbourhoods. This world introduction is also the first deployment of the new ISO15118 protocol for AC bidirectional charging that has been finalized. This protocol allows a bidirectional exchange of energy and therefore makes it in the future possible for electric cars to actively take part in smart energy networks.

Robin Berg – © Lotte Stierhout

Shared electric cars for everyone

“Our innovative technology enables us to contribute to the rapid growth of solar and wind energy. The shared cars also deliver with bidirectional charging revenue when they stand still, allowing us to reduce the costs for our customers in the future.”

“We are beyond proud that a growing number of residents of the Utrecht municipality is using our shared cars. Agreements have been made with several project developers on the use of these cars as smart and sustainable mobility for residents of Utrecht city and region. This emphasizes its sustainable and collaborative mindset. Our goal is to successfully implement our bidirectional ecosystem throughout the Netherlands and eventually Europe.”