There’s a raft of technologies to understand with the transition to electric vehicles, but there is little as exciting, and as confusing as Vehicle to Grid, commonly referred to as V2G.
To begin, let me assure you that V2G is not quite here yet, but is also not too far off. It is a technology in advanced trials and it will certainly have a major role in our future energy systems, and it’s worth considering as you plan your energy and EV charging infrastructure, in order to future proof systems.
So, what is V2G?
There are several functions that sit together with V2G, and these are covered by the catch-all V2X (Vehicle to Everything). V2X includes all the functions using a vehicle battery as an external power source. This includes powering a device through the in-vehicle power points (V2L), powering a home (V2H) or building (V2B), much like a solar connected battery would, or sending energy back to the wider grid (V2G).
What makes V2G so exciting is the size of the batteries in EV’s, and the potential of the wider vehicle fleet to be used as a decentralised energy storage asset to support the intermittent energy generation of wind and solar. During midday solar peaks, when many vehicles are sitting stationary, cheap energy can flow into the car batteries, and be drawn back out during consumption peaks, when energy costs are high. This is done by participating in a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), which are available currently for stationary home and commercial batteries.
Owners of the vehicle, whether private vehicles, or business fleets, can potentially earn money from engaging in energy arbitrage, that is the trading of energy by buying at low prices and selling at high prices, and by performing grid services, such as frequency control. Not only does this solve energy storage challenges, it also creates a revenue stream for the vehicle owner.
As fleet operators, you’ll be able to set limits on the energy trading done by the fleet, and parameters such as having vehicles at 100% charge for 8am. Ideally these systems would be intuitive and convenient to the point where the energy exchanges can happen while being barely noticed by vehicle and fleet operators at all.
Obviously, this is bigger than just a fleets issue, and a business needs to look at their internal energy systems and potential benefit of V2G. A business with a rooftop of solar may use their own energy to run computers after dark or heating in the early morning, or by running V2G arbitrage they may neutralise fleet costs altogether. Energy could be collected by the vehicle and taken to another location, and this may include allowing employees to soak up excess solar during the day to take home at night. Back at the Vehicle to Load (V2L) piece, councils or energy companies could use vehicles as generators on work sites or during power outages.
While V2L is a reality now in many available vehicles, by my estimate V2H, V2B and V2G are 3-6 years away from commercialisation in Australia. The challenges facing the technology include a lack of bidirectional chargers available on the market, vehicle warranties allowing for V2X use, VPP services from energy retailers, integration by energy network operators and regulatory refinement.
What does this mean for fleet managers now?
Not a huge amount really. But it’s something to keep in mind while planning charging infrastructure. A medium to large entity should have a Fleet Transition Working Group, which includes fleet managers, electricians, building or asset managers, HR, environmental or ESG representatives as a minimum. (It cannot be said enough that fleet transition is not an isolated issue for fleets.)
Additional questions to bring up to this working group would be;
- Does the building have solar? Can the building get solar?
- Is the business currently looking at installing batteries? If so, can vehicles provide that function?
- How long will the business/ fleet be in this building?
- What hours will fleet cars be parked on site?
I would imagine already that this working group is looking at a timeline to transition the fleet, has considered the age and condition and capacity of switchboards, and is speaking to their energy network about upgrades that may be needed to accommodate 100% EV fleets.
If this all sounds overwhelming, the simplest solution for future proofing your EV charging, is to install empty conduit alongside any cable runs, and under any new asphalting. For a deeper dive into V2X technologies in Australia, I recommend the V2X.au Summary Report prepared for ARENA by EnX, available here.
