Bidirectional charging is a gamechanger for the energy sector and electric mobility. This was the central message of the first vehicle-to-grid Summit held on January 28th in Berlin. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) not only enhances the appeal of electric mobility but also supports the expansion of renewable energy and contributes to stabilizing power grids.
The next steps involve removing regulatory barriers, ensuring V2G interoperability, creating an inclusive market, and more effectively communicating the benefits to end users.
The summit brought together around 80 experts and stakeholders from the automotive industry, energy sector, grid operators, politics, and applied research. Topics discussed included technological and market development, regulatory challenges, and business models for bidirectional charging. Summit participants advocated for strengthening electric mobility and removing obstacles to bidirectional charging, aiming to unlock its potential for greater flexibility in the power grid, stable and cost-efficient renewable energy supply, and added value for the end consumer.
It became clear that there are many potential use cases for bidirectional charging and V2G: shifting electricity consumption to off-peak times, optimizing the use of locally generated photovoltaic (PV) power, providing backup power, and preventing peak loads. Furthermore, V2G offers the opportunity to market flexibility on the electricity market, provide ancillary and grid services such as curtailment prevention, black-start capability, and load management, as well as wholesale and energy services like renewable energy portfolio optimization and flexibility trading.
Real-world experiences demonstrate that PV system owners who use their electric vehicle (EV) battery for bidirectional charging, effectively using it as a home storage solution, can increase their self-consumption by 80% and save approximately 400 euros per year. Prosumer households can earn or save around 450 to 600 euros annually when they also participate in public grid charging and trade on the electricity market with their EV. Michael Rahi, Senior Innovation Manager E-Mobility at E.ON Group Innovation, and Markus Hackmann, Managing Director at P3 Automotive, shared this information. To accelerate the market adoption of V2G, Johannes Pallasch, spokesperson and head of the National Charging Infrastructure Coordination Center at the state-owned NOW GmbH, emphasized the importance of clearly demonstrating to end consumers that they can save money with the technology. Eugen Hildebrandt, Head of the EV Charging Infrastructure Service Line at McKinsey, also advocated for better communication of the technology's added value.
Patrick Vollmuth, Head of Digital Innovation and Flexibility Integration at the Research Center for Energy Economics (FfE), showcased the benefits of V2G for a cost-optimized energy system. V2G could efficiently replace alternative storage solutions and relieve distribution grids. Peak load power plants with a capacity of 32 GW and battery storage systems with a capacity of 60 GWh could be saved by 2050 in Europe, assuming a 30% V2G share of 208 million EVs.
Jan Strobel, Head of Regulation, Market Communication, and Mobility at the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), and Stefanie Wolff, Charging Infrastructure Advisor at the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), also advocated for electric mobility and V2G. The German automotive industry is working hard to introduce bidirectionally chargeable vehicles. The goal, as emphasized by Wolff, is to create standardized, interoperable, and barrier-free systems.