Being a V2G trailblazer: Lessons for mass market adoption

In Australia right now there is the beginning of a quiet revolution. One that has the potential to bring about a shift in the balance of power supply and demand. That revolution is the advent of bidirectional charging, or Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G).

V2G is the focus of Leading the charge in bi-directional charging, an R&D project undertaken with iMOVE partners the NRMA and the University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures. It’s a 2-year project, and 9 months in the project researchers have published a report, Being a V2G trailblazer: Lessons for mass market adoption. That report is available for download below.

Project objectives

This work will fill an important gap in the Australian energy transition landscape and enable the NRMA to contribute to Australia’s preparedness for V2G. The objectives along the way in this 2-year piece of work are these:

Ultimately, this project will help position Australia for a world-leading role in V2G/V2X deployment.

About bidirectional charging

Bidirectional charging is defined as:

… electric vehicle (EV) charging that goes both ways, turning EVs into mobile batteries. It allows electricity to flow back out of cars to power appliances, homes, offices, and even sell electricity back to the grid.

A V2G household requires the following components to operate:

1. A V2G-enabled electric vehicle.
2. A V2G-enabled charger.
3. An electricity distributor that allows network connection of V2G electric vehicle chargers.

Nissan Leaf

At the time of writing, of those three parts of the V2G puzzle that you need to participate in V2G, there is one vehicle available, the Nissan Leaf, and while there was previously one bidrectional charger on sale, the Wallbox Quasar 1, right now there are no birectional chargers available in Australia.

As for electricity distributors that allow a V2G connection, there are only a few. As we move further into 2025 it is fully expected that more vehicles, chargers, and distributors will be added to the V2G mix.

Wallbox Quasar 1 charger

Trailblazing

While the number of households currently using V2G is still small, the benefits of learning from the early adopter community prior to wide scale rollout are many. Here’s the proof in numbers. For this report researchers conducted deep dive interviews with 5 households in NSW and South Australia. While that would seem a very small number, it in fact represents 50 to 75% of  Australian V2G implementations, based on sales of V2G chargers.

The Being a V2G trailblazer: Lessons for mass market adoption report lays out the journey those 5 households have begun:

Their stories showcase V2G’s immense potential to improve the lives of users and benefit Australia’s energy system. Their experiences also identify the challenges V2G adopters currently face. Addressing these challenges is key to accelerating the mainstreaming of V2G in Australia.

Challenges and benefits

Challenges

The cost of technologies associated with V2G is currently significant at this early stage. More cost effective  EVs are now becoming available and we would anticipate a similar patten with chargers over time. The Wallbox Quasar 1 sold for around $11,000. Add to that the cost of installation ($2,000 to $5,000), and the vehicle cost (a new Nissan Leaf sells for between $50,990 and $61,490), you get a strong sense again on why we truly are in a trailblazer phase of V2G in Australia.

In the last couple of years we have seen the cost of EVs begin to drop, along with a increase in the number of models available. This trend is expected to continue, and we would expect a similar result in bidrectional chargers as that market matures.

The trailblazers experienced a difficuties in finding electricians with the knowledge to set up the home charging system, and a higher cost for those that could do the work. Charger approval is also currently made difficult, with electricity provider permission and approval of the chager installetion taking months.

Post-installation came the realisation that currently there is no app optimised for Australia that could help with managing home energy use and V2G. While not a dealbreaker, as you’ll see below the trailblazers did manage quite well, with what they could use such an app would be extremely desirable in helping households make the most of their V2G commitment and opportunities.

Benefits

Notwithstanding the challenges, the trailblazers saw the positives that V2G offers. In all cases the set-up enabled them to cover their energy costs, and indeed make a small income from providing electricity to the grid.

On average the five earnt $1,000 annually. In one instance a user earnt $565 in two hours, courtesy of of price spike. That same user earnt $759 in that month. It should be noted that all the trailblazers had solar photovoltaic panels in place prior to setting up their V2G.

The road ahead

The people in Australia that have switched to V2G have had a tough road. They are trailblazers in the true sense of the word, and they are now enjoying the benefits that V2G has to offer.

Those benefits will be financial as the V2G set-up costs are amortised. Additionally, they have taken steps to making their energy use more environmentally friendly, and given them control over their electricity, rather than be at the mercy of the providers.

Alongside the deep dive interviews with trailblazers, NRMA have also provided a look ahead, via a member survey. Here’s some of the top-level results:

• Energy literacy is relatively high and there is a willingness to take significant steps to reduce energy bills.
• Familiarity with V2G is increasing (37%), particularly among those already owning an EV (89%).
• Almost half (47%) have a positive outlook towards V2G, and interest in exporting power to the grid from their private vehicle is high. This is also higher among EV owners (73% in boosted sample).
• There is a high level of interest (54%) from those who own an EV to get V2G now 7% among broader NRMA members.
• “Financial factors” were rated as both the top benefit (e.g., energy bill savings) and the top concern (e.g., equipment costs). “Environmental benefits” were also highly ranked, while “Impact on battery” stood out as another significant concern.

Download the report

Click the button below to download a copy of Being a V2G trailblazer: Lessons for mass market adoption.

This work has also been recognised with an article about it in The Conversation, ‘A house battery you can drive around’: how a handful of Australians are selling power from their cars back to the grid.