Polestar Energy: Meet the app that’s changing the way drivers charge

Picture the scene: You arrive home after a tough day at work, pull into the driveway, plug in your Polestar, and proceed to flop onto the couch for some much-needed decompression time.

But there’s a problem.

Initiating a charge when most of the world is unwinding from a stressful day is one of the most expensive ways of topping up an EV’s battery. Simply put, it’s peak time for energy usage, with dinner-making, bath-running, and television-bingeing pushing the price per kilowatt of energy through the roof.

Savvy EV owners will wait for off-peak times and reduced pricing, but that’s not always the easiest thing to work out. It often requires delving into energy provider websites or keeping up with real-time usage fluctuations via various apps.

That’s where Polestar Energy comes in.

Polestar Energy

“We launched the Polestar Energy app to take the guesswork out of home charging,” says Olivier Loedel, Head of Software Product Management at Polestar. “The app does the hard work, so users just need to connect their vehicle, compatible home charger, and electricity contract, set a required level of charge for the next morning, and then let the app do the rest,” he adds.

Simplicity is key, and Polestar Energy requires minimal set-up and monitoring. It’s as simple as downloading the app to a smartphone, inputting an existing Polestar ID, adding details about your compatible home charger, and then connecting your dynamic electricity contract.

"The software will then do the heavy lifting, working out the best times and cheapest tariffs, so owners get exactly the charge they need, while reducing their charging costs and total cost of ownership,” Loedel explains.

By downloading and using the app, Olivier states that smart charging can reduce overall EV charging costs by up to 30% per year. At a time when many are feeling the financial pinch, those are some pretty significant savings. Combined with supporting the grid, this can add up to 300 EUR of savings per year.* The more Polestar owners smart charge and support the grid with Polestar Energy, the more benefits they will get. Polestar owners will see with a virtual wallet in the app the accruing credits that can then be cashed out or, depending on markets such as in the UK, the full benefits already deducted on their electricity bills.

Take a load off

All Polestar owners can benefit from the simplicity and potential cost savings of the Polestar Energy app, but later this year, Polestar 3 customers will also be able to harness the bi-directional charging functionality, as the EV community takes its first steps towards a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-home (V2H) revolution.

Not only can Polestar 3 utilise the Polestar Energy app to charge more intelligently, but it will also be able to discharge energy back to a home or the grid.

“There is concern that the increased energy demand from electric vehicles has the potential to destabilise the local grid, but they also present the perfect opportunity to help reduce spikes in demand and harness excess energy that is not being used and can’t be stored,” Olivier Loedel explains.

Since the average car is parked 95% of the time, EV batteries provide the perfect solution. They transform vehicles into energy storage on four wheels and virtual power plants, with the Polestar Energy app acting as the brains behind the energy flow.

To make the offering even more enticing, Polestar 3 customers using bi-directional charging will actually be able to earn more from their parked vehicles, with the rollout of Polestar Energy phase two later this year.

“In select markets, the foundations are already in place for energy providers to reward customers that make use of vehicle-to-grid, and Polestar owners will simply see these additional benefits in their Polestar Energy App or electricity bills,” Loedel says.

A simple home-charging solution

Polestar Energy enables charging during periods of lower grid demand, when the renewable energy mix is often higher, making EV charging more environmentally friendly. The app also factors in domestic solar energy production, allowing users to charge their Polestars with even more renewable sources when available. Polestar is arguably one of the first OEMs to launch such a comprehensive smart charging solution and grid rewards offer at this scale.

Currently, Polestar offers a unique home charging solution to European customers thanks to a partnership with stylish charging hardware specialist Zaptec, an EV wallbox that is guaranteed to work seamlessly with the new Polestar Energy ecosystem.

The Polestar Energy team’s vision is to create an “open ecosystem” that would encompass numerous wallbox and energy providers, with more partners coming onboard.

However, simplicity is the overriding aim, as the team doesn’t want users to be baffled by jargon or energy management details. Instead, they should be able to plug in, set a minimum charge amount, and let the software handle the rest.

Polestar Energy users get the peace of mind that comes with stepping inside a fully charged and potentially pre-heated or conditioned car at the lowest possible price every morning. 

So going forward, you can flop onto the couch after a hard day’s work, knowing that you’re saving—or even making—money while helping the grid handle peak demand.

Currently available in the UK and the Netherlands, as well as nine other European territories, Polestar plans to roll out the innovative app to further markets throughout the year.

*Depending on markets, energy contracts and plugged-in behavior, and excluding solar.