Plug in, get paid: EV drivers to tap into batteries

A device being developed in Australia could connect electric vehicles to the national electricity grid and let their owners reap the financial rewards.

Brisbane-based RedEarth Energy Storage announced a partnership with German firm Ambibox on Monday in a bid to produce the first locally made vehicle-to-grid bi-directional charger.

If successful, the device could be released as soon as March next year.

The announcement came just over a week after federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced standards to allow vehicle-to-grid technology in Australia following several trials and studies.

The technology, often called V2G, works by connecting an electric car to a specially equipped charger that can not only feed power into a vehicle but out of its battery and back into the grid.

Cars compatible with the technology can also be used to power homes, either to keep lights on during blackouts or to reduce power bills.

A bi-directional charger will be manufactured in RedEarth's Darra factory under the partnership, chief executive Charles Walker said, and would be released in the second quarter of 2025.

The technology, which had already been tested with a wide range of car brands, would broaden the ways drivers could use electric vehicles.

"(This) opens new opportunities for electric vehicle owners to use their EVs as private power plants," Mr Walker said.

"While rooftop solar and home battery ownership have traditionally been the drivers of... distributed energy resources in Australia, the adoption of EVs has accelerated."

The first bi-directional charger released by the brands would suit homes using three-phase power, with a single-phase version due towards the end of 2025.

The price of the chargers has yet to be released.

Ambibox chief executive Manfred Przybilla said the introduction of vehicle-to-grid technology in Australia would help "enhance the returns on EVs for both auto manufacturers and their end customers".

A study for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, conducted by Energeia, found electric vehicle owners could earn as much as $12,000 a year by feeding power back into the electricity grid from their car, based on 2022 prices.

V2G technology has also been trialled by researchers at the Australian National University in Canberra, which saw 16 connected cars feed power back into the power grid during a blackout.

The technology will also be the subject of a $7.7 million project run by Amber Electric next year, and a CSIRO project to test whether an electric car could reliably power a home.

All bi-directional chargers will be tested according to the Australian standard, announced at the Sydney International EV Show on November 9.