Cork-based Ohme, Ireland’s largest and fastest growing home EV charging company, is to help EV drivers to plug-in and get paid with a new energy trial in conjunction with ESB Networks. Called EV Flex, the new energy trial will run for six months from mid-August and will encourage participating EV drivers to plug in their vehicles whenever they are parked at home enabling them to earn rewards. The EV Flex trial will be the Republic of Ireland’s largest domestic energy flexibility study and is being led by ESB Networks along with Ohme’s class leading software and technology. With EV drivers plugging-in more, it will enable them to play a part in energy flexibility services and in turn earn rewards as a result. Drivers will be able to earn up to €78 over the course of the six month trial.
“Electricity flexibility services could potentially help save consumers money in energy costs and this trial aims to demonstrate that customer engagement is essential in generating more flexibility and helping the system meet peak demand, reducing costs and carbon emissions for everyone,” said David Watson, Ohme CEO.
“Our participation in similar trials in the UK have shown that Ohme can play a crucial role in domestic flexibility by engaging customers. We’ve demonstrated that our customers will shift their plug-in behaviour when needed, delivering significant flexible capacity through dynamic automated charging.”
Aisling Walsh, Customer and Strategy Manager, ESB Networks: “We’re delighted to partner with Ohme on the EV Flex trial as we continue to explore new ways to make flexibility simple, accessible and rewarding for customers. Alongside initiatives such as ‘Is This a Good Time?’ and other flexibility programmes, this trial will provide valuable insight into how EV drivers engage with smart charging and flexible electricity use. Working with innovative partners like Ohme allows us to better understand customer behaviours and preferences, helping to inform the future development of flexibility services that support Ireland’s transition to a cleaner, more resilient electricity system.”
Ohme has previously been involved in the UK’s largest home energy flexibility trial, Crowdflex, from May 2024 until September 2025 and over more than 400 flexibility events. Ohme scaled up to 20,000 customers per trial, rewarding them a total of £750,000 and flexing almost 150MW of electricity. Ohme is the official charger provider for Ford, Suzuki and the Volkswagen Group in Ireland.
