The project ‘Bidirectionally chargeable vehicle fleets in microgrids’ investigates the technical, economic and social conditions for the use of energy storage systems and bidirectionally chargeable vehicle fleets in industrial microgrids. Electric vehicles can not only draw energy from the grid, but also feed it back, thus contributing to the flexibility of local energy supply systems as mobile energy storage devices. The aim is to develop models and management concepts that enable the efficient integration of these technologies and highlight ecological, economic and social benefits.

The project combines technical investigations into system integration with acceptance analyses and economic feasibility studies to evaluate obstacles and opportunities from the industry's perspective. In this way, it contributes to a sustainable and resilient energy supply and to the sector coupling of mobility and energy. The interdisciplinary approach of the participating specialised institutes Production and Supply Chain Management (PSCM) and Mechatronic Systems (IMS) as well as three industrial partners ensures a practical and scientifically grounded analysis.

The project results will be made available to a broad specialist audience via the HOLM platform, publications and workshops, and will form the basis for future appliances, consulting approaches and software solutions in the field of intelligent energy systems and bidirectional charging infrastructures.

The research project “Bidirectionally chargeable vehicle fleets in microgrids” (HA-Projekt-Nr.: 2078/25-187) runs from April 2026 to October 2027 and was funded by the State of Hesse as well as the HOLM funding as part of the funding program „Innovative Projekte in Logistik & Mobilität“ of the Hessian Ministry for “Wirtschaft, Energie, Verkehr, Wohnen und Ländlichen Raum”. The project partners are Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Rinderknecht from the Institute of Mechatronic Systems at TU Darmstadt, as well as the companies ewr netze (Frankfurt), Folivora Solutions GmbH (Mühltal) and CuroCon (Zwingenberg).