Which EVs support V2G?

The Munich-based car manufacturer BMW launched an important V2G project a few years ago and handed over 20 appropriately equipped BMW i3s to private customers. These are mainly customers who live in a single-family home that is equipped with or without a photovoltaic system. The aim is to find out how V2G can be used to reduce the carbon footprint and energy costs over the course of the year - an important point, especially in times of volatile energy resources. Initial results show that V2H integration of BEVs can generate revenues of 300 euros per year.

From 2025, the BMW models of the New Class will be able to store electricity and thus function as a power socket. They will be equipped with bidirectional charging technology.

“We have deliberately equipped the Ford Explorer and our new Capri with the option of bidirectional charging because we consider this technology to be an important pillar of a sustainable energy supply,” explains Oliver Adrian, Head of European Charging & Energy Strategy and Go-to Market, Ford Model e. "This technology allows even more energy from renewable sources to be used. The large batteries in our modern electric models are ideal as buffer storage."

The Japanese car manufacturer Honda has made its battery-electric models V2G-capable. The Honda e is equipped with bidirectional charging capability, which theoretically enables V2G applications. However, Honda does not currently offer its own wallbox with this function.

In cooperation with the V2X Suisse consortium, Honda initiated a pilot project in Switzerland in 2022 in which 50 Honda e vehicles were used in a car sharing service. These vehicles used their bidirectional charging capability to feed energy back into the grid. For this project, Honda provided 35 Power Manager units that support V2G functions.

In 2023, Honda partnered with BMW and Ford to establish ChargeScape, which is developing a platform to optimize EV charging and grid services.

_{Source: Honda Motor Europe}

With its “Progress for Humanity” vision, Hyundai is pursuing the goal of carbon neutrality in Europe by 2035. The company is already using V2G technology to achieve this - including in two pilot projects in the Netherlands and Germany.

In Utrecht, the world's first bidirectional region is being created in collaboration with “We Drive Solar”. A fleet of IONIQ 5s is being deployed there as part of an innovative mobility service. The aim is to establish hundreds of shared vehicles with V2G technology in Utrecht and other cities. Europe's largest factory for bidirectional charging stations is being built for this purpose.

In Germany, Hyundai is working with “Next Kraftwerke”, an intermediary between energy suppliers and the electricity grid.

_{Source: Hyundai News}

Kia is also expanding its electric vehicle capabilities beyond mobility and is part of the Hyundai Motor Group's global initiative to further develop Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) services. The Kia Smart Charge app is available to Kia electric vehicle customers in the Netherlands, allowing users to charge during lower cost periods and save on electricity costs.

In the US, a new Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) service allows Kia EV9 owners in select US states to store energy in their vehicle's battery and deliver power back to their homes during power outages. This creates a reliable emergency solution.

_{Source: Kia News Center}

The EQS by Mercedes-Benz is capable of bidirectional charging. However, this is currently only available in Japan, as the CHAdeMO plug used there already has this functionality built in. This is not yet the case with the local CCS system, but this problem should be solved by the middle of the decade at the latest. It will probably be implemented sooner, as the legislator adopted the ISO 15118-20 standard in April 2022. As the smaller brother EQE and the EQS SUV use the identical technology, it should be the same for these models.

In May 2024, Mitsubishi Motors Australia was one of the first car brands to demonstrate its ability to export 5 kW of power from the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

"With the development of the V2G landscape and increasing access to bi-directional hardware, PHEV owners can feed electricity into the grid or their home. This saves costs, supports renewable energy and reduces CO₂ emissions," says eMobility Manager Tim Clarke.

For Mitsubishi, plug-in hybrids are ideal for bidirectional charging:

• Outlander PHEV: Stores solar energy, reduces costs and serves as an emergency power supply.
• Eclipse Cross PHEV: Offers similar functions for bidirectional charging.

Both models utilize the CHAdeMO DC charging system for compatibility with this technology.

_{Source: Mitsubishi Motors}

Nissan is one of the pioneers when it comes to bidirectional charging. The Japanese car manufacturer is a global leader and is involved in many different V2X projects. This is the almost literal implementation of the “Ambition 2030” strategy, which focuses not only on the electrification of the vehicle fleet, but also on the charging infrastructure and charging management.

Back in 2018, the Japanese car manufacturer initiated a project in Hagen together with The Mobility House that demonstrated the V2G potential of a Nissan Leaf by approving the electric car in accordance with the guidelines of the transmission system operators for primary control power (PRL). The result: the Nissan Leaf “earned” a good 20 euros per week. In summer 2021, a Nissan Leaf in Rhode Island earned around 4,200 US dollars using the V2G application. In addition to the Leaf, the technically closely related e-NV200 panel van also has V2G capability.

Some of Nissan's projects in recent years:

• Nissan introduced a way for electric car owners to offset parking costs by discharging electricity from their batteries while visiting a showroom in Yokohama.
• In the midst of disaster relief efforts, Nissan's Blue Switch program helped first responders charge tools and power a command center with Nissan LEAF batteries.

_{Source: Nissan Stories 2023}

According to the Group, all VW ID. models with the 77 kWh battery are “BiDi ready”. This applies to both newly produced and already delivered vehicles. The latter are enabled via an over-the-air update. This will take place with software version Softwareversion 3.5. The initial focus will also be on vehicle-to-home (V2H). “The appropriate regulatory framework is still lacking for feeding into the grid (V2G) - but this is of course the medium-term goal,” says a Group spokesperson.

Regarding the compatible hardware: Initially, the system was only compatible with the S10 E Compact home power station from HagerEnergy. There are now other options such as the EDISON V2H wallbox from E3/DC, which is available in a small series.

Porsche has launched a pilot test with the transmission grid operator TransnetBW and the consultancy firm Intelligent Energy System Services (IE2S), in which five series-production Taycans were connected to the power grid via the Porsche Home Energy Manager (HEM) both in a domestic environment and under laboratory conditions.

As Audi uses Porsche's J1 platform or VW's modular electric drive matrix (MEB) for its models, the same applies to the Ingolstadt-based company. The same applies to the Group subsidiaries Skoda and Seat, whose battery-electric models are based exclusively on the MEB platform. VW is spending a lot of money to make the MEB platform fit for the future. This includes V2G . This functionality will also be integrated into the future Group architectures Premium Platform Electric (PPE) and the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), in which Porsche is also involved.

_{Source: https://www.electrive.net/2023/12/06/vw-bringt-bidirektionales-laden-in-erste-id-modelle (German)}

The French manufacturer has been researching smart charging solutions and V2G for several years - also in collaboration with us. Following a trial with two Renault Zoes in Utrecht in the Netherlands, Renault has made 22 unidirectional and bidirectional Zoes part of an intelligent microcosm on the Portuguese island of Porto Santo.

In January 2023, Renault, in collaboration with the French Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA), announced the development of a charger that reduces energy losses during charging by 30 percent. This compact system makes it possible to feed energy from the vehicle battery back into the electricity grid in order to optimize grid operation and compensate for fluctuations in renewable energies.

The brand-new Renault R5 is also technically prepared for V2G. In June 2023, Mobilize, the Renault Group's mobility brand, entered into a partnership with The Mobility House Energy to provide a commercial V2G offer in France from 2024. This offer will enable Renault customers to integrate their vehicle batteries into the energy system through bidirectional charging and be financially rewarded for doing so. For future models based on the new CMB-EV platform, V2G is part of the technical package.

More about this milestone

The Stellantis multi-brand group has been testing V2G functionality on various fronts for some time now. The Peugeot iOn from model year 2018 and the Citroën C-Zero from model year 2017 are already V2G-capable. But progress is also being made with the other brands. Together with Free2move and eSolutions, the DrossOne project at the Mirafiori plant is enabling bidirectional charging with a fleet of the Fiat 500 E. It is expected to provide a nominal capacity of 25 MW of ultra-fast reserve services between 2023 and 2027, thus helping to reduce the transmission system operators' need for fossil fuel power plants.

V2G is definitely on the agenda for the Japanese car manufacturer. Toyota's stationary O-Uchi Kyuden system is based on the same battery technology that is also available in the electrified models and enables bidirectional home functions - also in conjunction with the photovoltaic system. According to Toyota, the capacity is 8.7 kWh and the rated power is 5.5 kWh. The next step is a similar use of actual car batteries, especially as Toyota already has concepts that integrate electric vehicles into the power grid. According to the manufacturer, the Toyota bZ4X is prepared for bidirectional charging and supports both vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid.

The Japanese already have experience: Toyota Tsusho (the commercial arm of the Toyota Group) and Chubu Electric Power launched Japan's first V2G project in Tokyo back in 2018, using Nuvve's V2G platform. The project partners have since received approval from the Japanese transmission system operator (TSO) to use this technology to stabilize the grid.

Tesla has so far been reluctant to embrace vehicle-to-grid (V2G), with priorities elsewhere. The only Tesla model that is currently capable of bidirectional charging is the new Cybertruck. Tesla Powershare technology has been newly developed for this purpose: this allows Cybertruck owners to supply electronic devices, electric vehicles and their homes with energy from their Cybertruck during a power outage (V2L/V2H). All Cybertruck sockets together can supply up to 9.6 kW.

Not all car models are built to be V2G-ready because there are still various technical and regulatory challenges. Here are some of the main reasons:

• Technical limitations: Many electric cars are not designed for bidirectional charging. The vehicle electronics are primarily optimized for driving, not for continuously feeding energy into the grid.
• Costs: The implementation of V2G requires special inverters and control systems, which can increase the cost of the vehicle. Many manufacturers prioritize other features to remain competitive.
• Regulatory hurdles: In some countries, there are still no clear regulations for feeding electricity from vehicles into the grid. Without uniform standards, the introduction of V2G can be difficult.
• Infrastructure: The power grid and charging stations must be designed for bidirectional charging. The necessary infrastructure to enable V2G across the board does not yet exist everywhere.

But, at the end of the day, the earning opportunities through V2G still leave a big fat plus in the bank account. Of course, the balance varies depending on the location of use and the conditions of the power grid.

So, the V2G community is ready, and car manufacturers, the first few wallbox manufacturers and grid operators are also pushing bidirectional charging. For their own benefit – because only with controllable energy storage solutions on wheels can the power grid become smart and stable enough to reliably satisfy the many electric cars’ hunger for energy without lights going out in German living rooms.