According to a new study from Transport & Environment (T&E), the mass adoption of electric vehicles in Europe with two-way charging or vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, could save European energy companies and motorists billions of euros a year in the next decade.
However, to achieve this potential, a regulatory framework that ensures interoperability between electric vehicles and chargers across the EU is urgently needed.
Bidirectional or V2G charging: Potential savings for Europe and consumers
Electric cars with bidirectional charging V2G (‘vehicle to grid’) They allow part of the electrical energy used when recharging them to be returned to the grid. In this way, users can contain their electricity bills at the end of the month and even “earn money”, as has happened with a pilot test in Australia.
In Spain and in much of the rest of Europe, despite the advances and multiple plans in motion To encourage the use of bidirectional chargers in electric vehicles, the possibility of earning money by returning electricity to the grid is an unattainable goal in the short and medium term due to many factors. Among them, current regulations and infrastructure.
And for V2G technology to work, it is necessary to install bidirectional chargers on a massive scale, which in addition to being more expensive than usual, are still few. Some of the most advanced projects in this sense are: ‘V2G AC Project’ by Endesa X and Nissan (running since 2015), the CIRVE Project or the ‘Smart Solar Charging’in which public and private entities collaborate at the European level.
Source: T&E
Now, a new study carried out by the German institutes Fraunhofer ISI and ISE for T&E highlights that, if implemented on a massive scale, “this technology could reduce the energy costs of the European Union by up to 22 billion euros annually by 2040which would mean accumulated savings of more than 100,000 million euros in the next decade,” according to their data.
Electric vehicles with bi-directional charging capabilities act as ‘batteries on wheels’, storing electricity at times of excess supply (such as when there is high solar or wind energy production) and releasing it during peak demand. This not only benefits vehicle owners, but also relieves pressure on European electricity grids as they transition to renewable energy sources.
Although Nissan was one of the pioneering brands In developing it, more and more electric vehicles incorporate bidirectional charging technology that allows them to send the remaining energy to a home, back to the grid or to a device, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pick-up, the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 GTX or the Volvo XC90, among others.
More and more vehicles have bidirectional charging, but a final push is missing
Source: T&E
The study highlights that the mass adoption of V2G technology would allow European energy systems to “integrate up to 40% more solar photovoltaic capacity.” Additionally, “it could reduce the need for stationary batteries for energy storage by 92% in 2040.” If so, electric vehicles “could cover up to 9% of the EU’s annual energy demand,” positioning itself as the fourth largest electricity supplier on the continent.
Fabian Sperka, head of vehicle policy at T&E, highlights that bidirectional charging is key to decarbonizing the transport sector: “Electric vehicles are already helping to reduce emissions on the roads, but their potential does not stop there. “With V2G, we could harness batteries on wheels to store renewable energy, thereby reducing the need for expensive storage infrastructure.”
In addition to the benefits to the electrical grid, bidirectional charging can also provide significant savings for motorists. According to the report, “electric vehicle drivers could reduce their annual electricity bill by up to 52%, which is equivalent to savings of up to 780 euros per year.” But the exact figure will depend on factors such as location, charging speed and power, energy price, etc.
While bi-directional EV charging can play an important role in Europe’s energy transition (and even help drive EV adoption), The reports point to the need to unify and coordinate technical requirements of the regulations necessary for this in the different countries.
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Source: www.motorpasion.com
