Electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) owners in Australia could soon use their cars to power their own homes, with the federal government finally announcing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging will be approved for use locally by 2025.
V2G bidirectional charging allows certain EVs and PHEVs to use their batteries to either send power back to the grid during peak times or be used as a portable generator, becoming helpful in blackouts.
Speaking at the Sydney International EV AutoShow, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, announced Standards Australia has given V2G the seal of approval, with a rollout of the technology due within just over a month.
“The process from now is that those [EV] manufacturers that enable vehicle-to-grid charging and those charging companies that enable it can register their products with the Clean Energy Council and get approval for each particular product,” Mr Bowen said.
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“They’ll have to meet the standard that’s been ticked off by Standards Australia, but where we’ve got manufacturers and OEMs who are on board for that and it all happens smoothly, we’ll be able to have bidirectional charging a reality by Christmas this year.
“I really am encouraging manufacturers both of vehicles and charging infrastructure to get their act together and get their applications into the Clean Energy Council – I’m sure they will, they’ve been waiting for this – as quickly as possible so we can make it a reality.
“It’s not going to happen overnight for everyone. Not every manufacturer is at the same place, but it’s now going to be enabled in our system.”
While there are some carmakers and energy companies which have engaged in V2G trials in Australia, the technology has never been available en masse to the public.
The Nissan Leaf is the only factory-delivered and warrantied EV in Australia with V2G capability, and took part in a South Australian pilot trial which began in 2022.
In May, Mitsubishi was granted approval to allow owners of the Outlander and Eclipse Cross PHEVs to bidirectionally charge, providing approved chargers were also purchased.
Amber Electric has also been running a $7.7 million, three-year trial of smart chargers and V2G chargers, which included 50 units of the latter.
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