Taiwanese two-wheeler battery swapping company Gogoro has a unique plan to benefit Taiwan’s electrical grid and generate revenue. The company has joined forces with Enel X, a global energy services provider, to function 2,500 of its GoStations as part of an Enel X Virtual Power Plant (VPP), the first of its kind to be deployed throughout the world.
A VPP is a combination of several small-scale energy resource components that are combined and aligned to the needs of the grid. The state is actively assisting Enel X as they progress toward a net-zero emission rate by 2050. The implementation of such systems also encourages resilience in energy system operations.
The integration of Gogoro’s GoStations into Enel X’s VPP has been an ongoing project initiated in 2022, with the initial pilot showcasing that the company’s battery swapping stations can respond to grid disturbances without impacting customers’ services. This May, the two organizations have already started incorporating approximately 1,300 GoStations. The target completion mark is set to reach 2,500 GoStations across 1,000 locations.
Horace Luke, Gogoro’s CEO and founder, commented on the future of the energy industry in the statement: “We are moving into the new age of smarter energy infrastructure and the integration between Gogoro Network and Enel X Virtual Power Plant in Taiwan is setting the stage for a new energy resource.” He further mentioned that united with the Enel X VPP, the company’s 12 gigawatt-hours GoStations can generate new revenue streams outside of mobility.
Gogoro has been developing technology since 2011 and has since become a meaningful player in the e-mobility industry. With the capacity to transform a vehicle’s battery, Gogoro advances in one of the most important aspects of the e-mobility technology. Timothy Syu, Gogoro Founder and Vice Chairman stated that, “It takes many different partners to make up a smarter, electrified and connected transportation system, and Gogoro is playing an important role in leading the industry towards this vision.”
Enel X is a globally recognized energy services provider with over 20-years of operation, becoming the major energy innovator throughout the world. The company provides services that range from digital electricity, thermal, and storage solutions to distributed energy. Their main goal is to make energy more accessible, efficient, and reliable.
To further their support for the energy transition process, Enel X collaborated with Gogoro to convert their GoStations into VPP nodes. Through this process, the companies are aiming to decrease grid dependence, ultimately driving electricity costs down and supplying the Taiwanese public electric utility with a steady, reliable, and affordable source of power.
