Australia's biggest V2G trial expands

Electric vehicles are edging closer to becoming home batteries and grid assets after the Federal Government dramatically upscaled its commitment to Australia’s largest vehicle-to-grid (V2G) trial.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded a further $13.6 million to energy retailer Amber Electric to significantly expand its V2G program.

The funding, which takes the total ARENA program spend to $16.8 million, will allow Amber to expand from 50 to 1000 households, while also expanding its smart charging program from 950 to 2000 households.

Vehicle-to-grid technology allows compatible electric vehicles to operate as mobile energy storage systems, storing electricity when prices are low before supplying power back to a home or exporting it to the electricity network when demand and prices rise.

The announcement comes as Australia's V2G sector begins gathering momentum following years of regulatory and technical development.

National bidirectional charging standards are now in place, approved charging hardware is beginning to reach the market and energy retailers are launching increasingly ambitious programs designed to demonstrate the technology at scale.

Industry participants say further work is still required to align technical standards, certification processes and electricity network requirements before widespread deployment can occur.

Despite the progress, widespread adoption has been slowed by the complexity of bringing together vehicle manufacturers, electricity distributors, charging hardware suppliers, software providers and energy retailers within a common framework.

ARENA hopes the expanded Amber program will help address those concerns by generating large volumes of real-world operating data from Australian households.

The next phase of the project will initially focus on BYD vehicles, with the trial designed to demonstrate how bidirectional charging can operate under everyday Australian driving and ownership conditions.

Amber's technology can automatically charge EVs when electricity prices are at their lowest and renewable generation is at its highest. For vehicles equipped with compatible bidirectional charging systems, that stored electricity can then be used to power a home or exported back to the grid when electricity is most valuable.

Drivers retain control over the process, including setting minimum battery levels and specifying when their vehicle needs to be fully charged.

According to the Electric Vehicle Council, a typical EV battery stores around five-and-a-half times as much energy as a household battery system.

The council says one Amber customer participating in an earlier trial generated more than $500 during a single high-demand electricity event, although savings and earnings will vary significantly depending on electricity prices, network conditions and individual driving patterns.

The technology should not be confused with vehicle-to-load (V2L), which is already available on many EVs sold in Australia and allows owners to power appliances directly from their vehicle. Vehicle-to-grid takes the concept a step further by enabling electricity exports to homes and the broader electricity network.

Australia's V2G sector remains in its infancy, but the combination of established bidirectional charging standards, growing EV sales and increasingly ambitious trials suggests the technology is moving beyond demonstration projects and towards commercial deployment.

If the expanded Amber program can demonstrate reliable operation, manageable battery impacts and meaningful customer savings, it could encourage more vehicle manufacturers to support bidirectional charging in Australia.

With EV sales continuing to rise and electricity networks increasingly reliant on renewable energy generation, parked electric vehicles could eventually become a significant source of distributed energy storage, helping households reduce energy costs while supporting the broader grid.

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