Bidirectional charging holds enormous potential for a more sustainable and efficient energy system. In this interview with electrive, Markus Hackmann from P3 Group shares his thoughts on the current state, upcoming challenges, and what’s needed to make vehicle-to-grid a reality.
AC or DC, which will win the race?
That's a very good question, especially if you're a consultant. I have to say it depends, but I think in the near future both options are possible. AC bidirectional charging is much better in terms of cost but DC, in my opinion, will make the race because the energy system is DC. If you have a look at PV and batteries, that's an easy answer to this very complicated question.
The first one is, that we have vehicle-to-home in the market. I myself am using this system at my home place, and it works, but it's a proprietary system. The future needs non-proprietary systems where every supplier matches with every car, enabling fleet solutions that save money. This is the first step. When we have a look at vehicle-to-grid, it's incredibly complicated. I think three years ago I was full of passion and power, thinking that's the future. We have the PV energy system, so it's very easy to bring energy into the grid. But now, since one year, I'm just looking around and seeing nothing really happens. It's always the same discussion. So I really look forward to find very good customer solutions, bringing the customer into the center of the answer. But we are talking about regulatory frameworks and norms, and all of this is not innovation. It just means that vehicle-to-grid is maybe viable by 2027. In my opinion, it could be here now, and that's why I'm a little bit disappointed about the innovation.
What we tried, I would say one and a half years ago, is we made a white paper for Robert Habeck. The main players were sitting at the table: the energy industry, the grid industry, and the automotive industry. In my opinion, it's very easy. Bring all of them together, maybe lock the room, and when we have white clouds coming out of the building, the solution is there. It's really that easy. When everybody wants it to happen, it will happen. But actually, I don't see it.
Of course, there are many energy models. I think there are lots of experts around. In the end, I would say there is a slice of pizza for everybody, so each of these three players has to participate. But the customer is the most important player, because if we really do the energy transition, we have to let him know that there is money in the game. He can save money and earn money. Until now, the customer doesn't understand what is really happening and why he should invest in this energy system. This is the dilemma.
The V2G topic will also be a central highlight at The smarter E Europe 2025, with the Special Exhibit Bidirectional Charging .