The Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) is a public research center ascribed to the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in which the Department of Research and Universities also participates. IREC is a CERCA center and accredited as a TECNIO center. Created in 2008, it aims to contribute to the sustainable development of society and to increase the competitiveness of industry in the energy sector.

The center develops research of excellence in the medium and long term, innovation and the development of new technological products and the dissemination of important knowledge and findings to the general public.

Role in NEVERFLAT Project

IREC will be responsible of developing a grid-aware V2G management system designed to optimized EV charging and discharging. The aim is to maximize economic benefits for the drivers, while ensuring grid operation is kept within secure technical constraints. The V2G management system will leverage AI techniques for accurate forecasting of both local and non-local generation and load profiles. This is expected to support a broader adoption of EVs in the future, by reducing user costs and mitigating concerns about grid reliability.