share this post
on this page
More and more business parks are switching their fleets and visitor vehicles to electric. That makes sense, but the grid is not keeping pace. Everyone wants to charge at roughly the same time, the peak shoots up and the connection hits its limit. Requesting a heavier connection? Due to grid congestion, that can take years. The solution is not more capacity, but smarter distribution. With smart charging and, soon, bidirectional charging, you get more out of the same connection. This article is part of our pillar on electrification and charging infrastructure and shows how to manage shared charging infrastructure on a business park with an EMS.
On a business park, ten or twenty vehicles can easily be plugged in at the same time, at exactly the same moment. The grid cannot handle that, and upgrades take years. The answer lies in control, not more capacity.
- With unmanaged charging, every vehicle draws maximum power. On a shared site, the combined peak quickly exceeds the connection limit, leading to outages or steep peak charges.
- Smart charging distributes available power dynamically across all charge points, based on capacity, electricity price and solar generation. It already delivers lower costs today.
- Bidirectional charging (vehicle to grid) is gaining momentum. Those who prepare for it now will soon have flexible storage at their disposal without installing a separate battery.
- At energy-intensive businesses, Tibo achieves up to 60 % lower energy costs and up to 50 % less CO₂, and currently manages over 120 MW of capacity.
- A simulation based on your own consumption and charging profiles shows, before you invest, what smart control delivers in capacity, cost and CO₂.
Not more capacity, but smarter distribution: with an EMS you charge more vehicles within the same connection.
Why unmanaged charging stalls on a business park
With unmanaged charging, every charge point draws full power the moment a vehicle is plugged in. For a single vehicle, that is manageable. But on a business park, ten, twenty or more vehicles charge simultaneously, often at exactly the same time: in the morning on arrival and at the end of the working day.
The result: you invest in charge points you cannot fully utilise, or you hit the ceiling of your connection. Smart control solves precisely that.
Unmanaged charging versus smart control with an EMS
Before ordering more charge points or a heavier connection, it is worth understanding where the gains lie. The difference between unmanaged charging and control via an energy management system determines how many vehicles you can accommodate within the same capacity.
In short: unmanaged charging wastes capacity; smart control makes use of it. With the same connection, you charge more vehicles.
From smart charging to bidirectional charging
Smart control operates on two levels. Smart charging is the foundation: the EMS determines when and how fast each vehicle charges. Based on available capacity, electricity price and solar generation, charging is distributed and shifted to the cheapest, greenest hours. This is also known as dynamic charging, and it already delivers value today: you stay within your connection and pay less.
The second level is bidirectional charging, also known as vehicle to grid. Here, the EV becomes a battery on wheels: the vehicle feeds power back to the building or the grid at moments when it is needed. The Dutch national roadmap for bidirectional charging aims to move this technology beyond the pilot phase. It requires bidirectional charge points and compatible vehicles. Those who prepare now will soon have enormous flexible storage at their disposal, without installing a separate battery.
On a business park, shared capacity adds another dimension. You share one connection with multiple users, and an EMS distributes it intelligently across all charge points. This way, the entire site charges more vehicles with the same capacity. That makes your charging area a logical part of the EnergyHub on the business park.
Smart control with Tibo EMS
All those decisions, per charge point, every minute, are impossible to make manually. That is what Tibo’s energy management system was built for. She controls charge points, batteries, solar panels and consumption as a single system, regardless of your hardware. Your existing charge points and brands simply keep working.
Under the bonnet is an algorithm that updates a 48-hour plan every five minutes, choosing the smartest decision per charge point: charge now, later, faster or slower, and eventually feed back bidirectionally. Load balancing and peak shaving keep the site within its connection, so a costly upgrade is often unnecessary.
That translates into results. At energy-intensive businesses, Tibo achieves up to 60 % lower energy costs and up to 50 % less CO₂, and currently manages over 120 MW of capacity. At locations such as Montea, the system controls charging infrastructure, storage and generation across the entire site, with measurably lower costs as a result.
Find out what smart control delivers for your site
Wondering how many charge points you can accommodate without upgrading your connection? With the Tibo System Simulator, we build a digital twin together with a Tibo partner, based on your own consumption and charging profiles. That way you see, before you invest, what smart control delivers in cost, capacity and CO₂.
Frequently asked questions
follow us
Don't miss the next spark.
Subscribe and catch the latest in energy management.
