Elster's EnergyAxis Smart Grid solution will power the electric vehicle fleet for GridSmartCity, Burlington Hydro Inc.'s dynamic renewable energy and Smart Grid modernization initiative.

The GridSmartCity project will use EnergyAxis to integrate the first all-electric vehicle to be used in a commercial fleet in Canada. The project will study potential broad-scale vehicle electrification in commercial fleet applications.

Elster's EnergyAxis will enable Burlington Hydro to remotely monitor and control electricity consumption patterns at a vehicle charging station in Burlington, and to better understand how to develop an optimal recharging infrastructure and integrate EVs onto the Smart Grid.

For the GridSmartCity project, Burlington Hydro plans to incorporate the all-electric vehicle into its working fleet for a collaborative one-year study and demonstration project with the University of Waterloo, Transport Canada, Elster and other industry innovators, including Eaton and Pioneer Petroleum. Pioneer Petroleum will operate an EV charging station at one of its retail gas stations.

Commercial vehicle fleets operating from a centralized hub offer great potential for rapid adoption of EVs with an efficient recharging infrastructure. The GridSmartCity project will assess peak versus off-peak electricity demands and the potential to use vehicle batteries to store supplemental power, which could be made available to reduce peak loads on the electricity grid.