Park your car to power your home: study probes EV tech

October 9

Powering Australian homes with electric cars could be possible as part of a two-year research project also designed to convince motorists and governments to adopt the technology.

Motoring group NRMA announced the bi-directional vehicle charging study on Wednesday after partnering with researchers at the University of Technology Sydney and the iMove Co-operative Research Centre.

The project, expected to run for 30 months, will investigate technical solutions for vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid technology in Australia, and create a roadmap for its launch.

The technology has been tested in Australia but its wider rollout has been delayed by government restrictions and a lack of compatible bi-directional chargers and vehicles.

But the technology should not be overlooked because it had huge potential to help consumers save money, use more solar power and stabilise the electricity grid, iMove managing director Ian Christensen said.

It could also make electric vehicles more useful, he said, by turning them into mobile home battery systems.

“We think electric vehicle adoption will become more attractive if the EVs can be treated as batteries on wheels and can power the house, receive power from the house (or) charge the grid,” he told AAP.

“We’re keen to make some concrete, pragmatic progress towards making this available for everybody.”

The technology works by connecting an electric car to a bi-directional charger that could be used top up the car’s battery or, when it’s full, draw electricity from the vehicle to power a home or feed the grid during peak times.

The research project will investigate consumer attitudes to vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home technology, advocate for government policies to support it, launch a demonstration of the technology and map a wider rollout.

Many Australians could benefit from the technology but they needed greater education about it, NRMA chief strategy officer Vivian Miles said.

“Bi-directional charging is a really exciting development that has the potential to save our members money,” she said.

“Rather than straining the system at a time when we are shifting to more fluctuating renewable energy, EVs could provide a solution to both the clean energy and clean transport transition.”

A study by consultancy Energeia found electric cars connected to the electricity grid could earn their owners as much as $12,000 a year in NSW.

A V2G trial at the Australian National University proved successful earlier in 2024, when 16 of its 51 vehicles fed power back into the electricity grid during a blackout.

Amber Electric is also running a limited trial of V2G technology that will expand in the coming months with the installation of 50 bi-directional chargers in participants’ homes.

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