If V2G is so great, why isn’t anyone using it?
I have been a long-time fan of electric vehicle-to-grid technology — V2G — because it kind of feels like buy one get one free. We buy electric cars to clean up transport system. And we get the freebie of extra electricity storage to help solve some of the big challenges related to an electricity grid supplied by a lot of variable renewables. But even though the technology holds a lot of potential, it isn’t being used on a large scale yet. That made me question: If V2G is so great, why isn’t anyone using it?
I recently had the chance to talk to Bjorn Sturmberg, who is a researcher at the Australian National University working on a V2G project called REVS: Realizing Electric Vehicle to Grid Services. That project will have 51 electric cars which are part of the Australian Capital Territory government’s fleet, and they’ll be demonstrating on this relatively large scale how V2G can work.
The idea isn’t new. There have been plenty of trials before this ANU one that have already demonstrated the capability of vehicle batteries and the two-way chargers to provide this service. In fact, the ANU REVS project uses off-the-shelf commercially available cars and two way chargers, so no new tech there. But if the benefits are so big and the technology is already available to buy, then why haven’t we seen V2G rolled out all around the world, wherever…
