Bi-Directional Electric Vehicle Charging Solution

*** NEW – July 08, 2022

• An attachment has been added. The document contains questions and answers related to the Challenge.

*** UPDATED
On June 14, 2022, the Government of Canada announced the suspension of mandatory vaccination for federal employees effective June 20, 2022. In alignment with this measure, the Government of Canada will also be suspending the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for Supplier Personnel (“the policy”).

This means that as of June 20, 2022 and until further notice, the vaccination requirements of the policy will no longer be in effect.

*** NEW – June 17, 2022

• An attachment has been added. The document contains questions and answers related to the Challenge.

*Please note the ISC Website will be available on June 8, 2022 at 14:00 EDT

This Challenge Notice is issued under the Innovative Solutions Canada Program (ISC) Call for Proposals 003 (EN578-20ISC3). For general ISC information, Bidders can visit the ISC website.

Please refer to the Solicitation Documents which contain the process for submitting a proposal.

Steps to apply:

Step 1: read this challenge

Step 2: read the Call for Proposals

Step 3: propose your solution here

Challenge title: Bi-Directional Electric Vehicle Charging Solution

Challenge sponsor: Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)

Funding Mechanism: Contract

MAXIMUM CONTRACT VALUE:

Multiple contracts could result from this Challenge.

Phase 1:

• The maximum funding available for any Phase 1 contract resulting from this Challenge is : $150,000.00 CAD excluding applicable taxes, shipping, travel and living expenses, as required.
• The maximum duration for any Phase 1 contract resulting from this Challenge is up to 6 months (excluding submission of the final report).
• Estimated number of Phase 1 contracts: 3

Phase 2:

Note: Only eligible businesses that have successfully completed Phase 1 will be invited to submit a proposal for Phase 2.

• The maximum funding available for any Phase 2 contract resulting from this Challenge is : $1,000,000.00 CAD excluding applicable taxes, shipping, travel and living expenses, as required.
• The maximum duration for any Phase 2 contract resulting from this Challenge is up to 24 months (excluding submission of the final report).

Estimated number of Phase 2 contracts: 1

This disclosure is made in good faith and does not commit Canada to award any contract for the total approximate funding. Final decisions on the number of Phase 1 and Phase 2 awards will be made by Canada on the basis of factors such as evaluation results, departmental priorities and availability of funds. Canada reserves the right to make partial awards and to negotiate project scope changes.

Note: Selected companies are eligible to receive one contract per phase per challenge.

Travel

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the kick-off meeting and final review meeting will have the flexibility of being a video or teleconference

Kick-off meeting

Teleconference/videoconference

Progress review meeting(s)

Teleconference/videoconference

Final review meeting

Teleconference/videoconference

All other communication can take place by telephone, or videoconference.

Challenge Statement Summary

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is seeking an innovative Electric Vehicle (EV) charging solution that promotes increased adoption of electric vehicles while using bidirectional energy to aide in the decarbonization of Real Property buildings.

Challenge Statement

The electrification of the transportation sector underway in the Government of Canada leads PSPC to look ahead for smart and innovative vehicle charging technologies that will support the transition and decarbonization of its portfolio of buildings.

One of the main challenges for PSPC, is the increased electrical load of its current infrastructure due to the increased electrification of heating. The electrification of heating is a significant part of the decarbonization strategy for Federal operations. PSPC is committed to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by way of various means - inclusive of vehicle fleet emissions.

The electrification of the vehicle fleet will add to the increased electrical load of building operations. EV charging is an electrical load that is considered flexible, and can be modulated based on factors such as the building's power draw from the electrical grid.

In addition, the electric battery of a vehicle could be leveraged as an energy storage device to support the building's effort to reduce its peak electrical demand on the electricity grid by employing Vehicle to Grid (V2G) and/or vehicle to Home/Business (V2H) technologies. 

As V2G technology roles out, a concern is the lack of a standard bi-directional EV charging protocols as well as the lack of standard/compatible charging connectors. Currently, only a handful of EVs support V2G and bidirectional DC charging, and only a few EVs currently feature V2H technology.

Desired outcomes and considerations

Essential (mandatory) Outcomes

The proposed solution must:

• Provide a charging infrastructure with Level II (240v, 40A) universal charging capability.
• Provide a charging infrastructure that is bi-directional energy capable (e.g. be able to supply power to vehicles' batteries and draw power from vehicles' batteries)
• Be able to supply continuous variable energy
• Integrate a real-time capacity, such as but not limited to, an artificial intelligence adjustment of power supplied to and from connected vehicles, based on real-time building power demand allowance.
• Be able to provide real-time analytics such as the flow of energy, the consumption of energy, and real-time projections to users of the solution.
• Have a charging infrastructure (hardware) that supports future firmware/software development toward advanced bi-directional energy exchange functions.

Additional Outcomes

The proposed solution should:

• Have technology that allow user participation options (For example: ability to choose between unidirectional or bi-directional power flow)
• Demonstrate the potential for scalability of infrastructure and how it supports transition toward a heavily electrified vehicle fleet.

Background and Context

The electrification of vehicles and the addition of charging infrastructure will lead to an increase in electricity consumed by PSPC's building portfolio. It is expected that, in combination with the electrification of space heating to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the building's peak electrical demand profile will increase and change over time. This will present a challenge to the existing electrical infrastructure, and could lead to costly capital upgrades and operational charges. There is an opportunity to leverage EVs as active components of the decarbonization of real property operations.

ENQUIRIES

All enquiries must be submitted in writing to TPSGC.SIC-ISC.PWGSC@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca no later than ten calendar days before the Challenge Notice closing date. Enquiries received after that time may not be answered.

How to Prepare a Bid