Porsche Taycan to power the grid too

Porsche has confirmed its all-electric Porsche Taycan is vehicle-to-grid (V2G) compatible following a field test in Europe in collaboration with grid operator TransnetBW.

On step beyond vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality, which allows EVs to charge electrical appliances, V2G and V2H (vehicle-to-home) capability allows EVs like the Nissan LEAF to power the electricity grid and homes respectively, with the right hardware.

In February, Australian EV infrastructure company Jet Charge said it would soon deliver world-first bi-directional DC electric vehicle chargers with V2G charging capability, effectively allowing EV owners to turn their vehicles into home batteries.

In a small-scale trial similar to the global V2G trial conducted recently by Queensland University, five series-production Porsche Taycans were connected to the power grid via a specially adapted Porsche Home Energy Manager (HEM) both in a domestic environment and under laboratory conditions.

A cloud-based pooling system developed by Intelligent Energy System Services was used to control the charging processes of the subject vehicles in relation to the load on the grid.

Porsche AG executive board deputy chairman Lutz Meschke said the success of the trials bode well for the future in terms of the HEM device’s technology and the sustainability of national power grids.

“Advanced solutions for green charging and other vehicle-to-grid applications are also conceivable,” he said.

“And that’s not all: if electric vehicles feed electrical energy back into the grid in the future for example with a private photovoltaic system, contributing to the expansion of regenerative energy, it will further increase the acceptance of e-mobility.”

Both Porsche and TransnetBW agreed that using battery-electric vehicles as grid buffers would be a win-win situation with the grid permanently being more balanced – meaning less power outages and reliance on power stations – while vehicle owners could be financially compensated for their contributions.

“A real measurable milestone: the project team has managed to implement the complex communication infrastructure between our control system and several electric vehicles,” TransnetBW CFO Rainer Pflaum said.

“At the same time, the strict specifications for storing and supplying balancing power have been met.

“This will enable us to integrate electromobility into the intelligent power grid of the future.”

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