Deftpower developed and validated an AI based smart charging and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform capable of aggregating electric vehicles and providing flexibility services to electricity markets and grid operators. By March 2026, the platform scaled to 1.84 million fully onboarded EV drivers, maintained a stable average app rating of 4.5 out of 5, and connected 123,791 vehicles, representing approximately 8.47 GWh of battery capacity and around 70,000 charging sessions per day and has processed over 29 million charging sessions cumulatively
A production ready data infrastructure was established integrating charging session data, vehicle telemetry, charging infrastructure data and electricity market prices. On this basis, two AI models were developed: a departure time prediction model for individual charging sessions and a pool level forecasting model predicting charging demand and flexibility with 91–96% accuracy, varying among pool-level sizes. These models were integrated into an operational AI based Digital Twin that continuously estimates EV charging flexibility and enables forecasting, activation and settlement of flexibility services through partner APIs.
The technology was validated through real world demonstrations. The initial pilot in Norway involved 72 EV drivers and successfully responded to six flexibility signals from a DSO aggregator. After the Volue partnership ended, the demonstration was subsequently expanded through collaborations with Charge Point Operators, Balance Response Parties and Distribution System Operators onboarding more than 940 additional users, of whom 446 completed optimized charging sessions. This includes CPO partnerships in the Netherlands and Germany, a signed pilot with Dutch DSO Alliander and a Forecasting API partnership with ANWB. Operational improvements increased the smart charging session quality score.
Analysis of operational data shows that approximately 67% of public AC charging consumption can be shifted from peak to off peak periods, corresponding to an average flexibility potential of about 14 kWh per EV per session.
These developments enabled the first operational smart charging sessions in the Netherlands, Germany and Norway, where charging is optimised based on energy market signals and driver specific rewards are calculated and applied. By M24, the rewards ledger had paid €11,530 to 4,756 EV drivers. The technical maturity of the platform has resulted in multiple commercial deployments and partnerships with major market actors, including Essent (E.ON) Allego, TotalEnergies, Ubitricity (Shell), Equans, Kia Europe, Fastned, the Dutch DSO Alliander and an exclusive smart charging agreement with ANWB, confirming the platform’s readiness for scale up and its position as a leading provider of EV based flexibility.
