Revolutionizing the way we store energy, electric vehicle batteries are being harnessed to power homes and stabilize the grid. Discover how bidirectional charging is transforming the face of energy storage.
Electric vehicles (EVs) boast increasingly powerful batteries charged from the energy grid or rooftop solar systems. But when the car isn’t in use, its battery can serve as storage for homes and the energy grid via a bidirectional charging process that can reduce power costs.
How Bidirectional Charging Works
Until recently, power flowed in one direction to EV batteries from the charging station. A charged battery could only power the electric motor, electronics, lights, and heating but external devices such as a fridge when camping or a drill on a building site. However, with the latest bidirectional chargers, EV batteries can also supply entire buildings with electricity using vehicle-to-home (V2H) technology or feed electricity into the public grid via vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.
Stabilizing the Power Grid
EV batteries can temporarily store surplus electricity from renewable energy sources and release it when demand increases, helping to stabilize the power grid. This also relieves pressure on gas or coal-fired power plants during periods of high consumption, reducing the need for additional battery storage.
Benefits of Car Batteries
According to a recent study commissioned by Transport & Environment, the shared use of car batteries in the EU could reach €22 billion annually. EVs could cover up to 9% of the EU’s electricity requirements and temporarily up to 20%, making them an important pillar of the electricity system.
Cost Savings for Consumers
E-car owners could save between €31 and €780 per year by sharing their battery power with their own home or the power grid. In France, private owners of the new electric Renault R5 were offered 10,000 kilometers (around 6,200 miles) of free driving electricity in return for connecting their car to a bidirectional charging station for an average of 15 hours a day.
Increasing Adoption
More public EV chargers could soon be bidirectional, and experts recommend that new generations of private and public charging stations should function bidirectionally wherever possible. A survey commissioned by energy supplier Eon found that 77% of respondents would use bidirectional charging technology to supply their own buildings, while 65% would support electricity grids.
The Future of Energy Storage
A study published in Science magazine predicts that battery storage systems with a capacity of 74 billion kWh worldwide will be required by 2050. With an estimated 1.5 billion EVs worldwide by 2050, this global fleet could store up to 90 billion kWh of electricity.
