Aachen, Germany, October 20, 2026 – gridX, a European provider of leading energy management systems (EMS) for electric vehicle (EV) charging, solar and storage, and LEAP24, operator of fast charging sites for electric vehicles, today announce the successful testing of virtual grid expansion at LEAP24’s site in Goirle, the Netherlands. A co-located Pixii battery lifted charging peaks to almost three times the site’s grid limit. The results show how intelligent software can cost-effectively turn a small grid connection into a high-power charging hub.
The challenge is familiar across Europe: the best locations for fast charging rarely come with the grid capacity to match, and grid extensions are both time- and cost-intensive. In September 2026, charging sessions at the Goirle site peaked at 143 kW – 2.9 times the 50kW connection limit. Effectively every real charging session in the month exceeded 50 kW, and more than 64% of the sessions peaked above 100 kW.
The site combines one Alpitronic HYC150 charger and two Pixii batteries. gridX’s energy management system controls both in real time, ensuring the grid connection is never overloaded and that the battery discharges exactly when a vehicle needs the extra power. At the September peak, the grid supplied only 43.2 kW while the battery discharged 93.2 kW. Across the pilot, the battery lifted average charging power from around 45 kW to roughly 125 kW.
Virtual grid expansion enables cost-efficient scaling of EV charging infrastructure
“Grid connections are the biggest bottleneck in fast charging, and waiting years for an upgrade is not an option for us. With gridX and our Pixii battery, our Goirle site charges at nearly three times what its connection allows. For our operations, that changes which locations we can acquire – and how quickly we can open them,” says Jeroen Mannaerts, Head of Operations at LEAP24.
The partnership was built around an open, hardware-independent approach. gridX integrated the Alpitronic charger, the Pixii battery and the site metering into one system, and continues to expand battery integrations, having recently added Sungrow and Huawei batteries to its list of supported assets.
“Electrification only scales if it is simple and affordable. Interoperability lets operators choose the best hardware for each site, and advanced energy management makes that hardware work as one system – so you get more charging power out of the grid connection you already have. That makes rolling out electric vehicle charging infrastructure far more cost-effective at scale,” adds Amelie Meixner, Director of Growth at gridX
Project expansion and outlook for 2027
Building on the results from Goirle, gridX and LEAP24 plan to bring virtual grid expansion to more sites across multiple markets in 2027. The focus will be on scaling the solution across new and retrofit locations and adapting it to local regulation in each market, so that the approach proven in the Netherlands can become a repeatable blueprint for grid-constrained charging sites across Europe. The site in Goirle has already been built with the necessary preparations in place to double the number of chargers and batteries when demand increases.
gridX is Europe's leading smart energy company based in Aachen and Munich. With its energy management platform, gridX seamlessly connects, controls and optimizes distributed energy resources in home and at electric vehicle charging sites. Customers can monetize the flexibility of energy assets as gridX aggregates their capacity and makes it available for trading on various energy markets. Energy retailers and scale-ups unlock new revenue streams and provide their end customers with more value and lower bills. Charge point operators can install more and higher power charge points, while lowering costs.
