Apr 1, 2025

Share New vehicle-to-grid (V2G) standards announced by the federal government late last year allow Australia’s electric vehicle (EV) owners to use their electric cars to not only power their homes but also send energy back into the electricity grid during peak demand periods. The standards will help consumers stay in control of their energy usage, reduce bill costs and improve grid stability and the impact could be immense. With Australian EV sales expected to reach two million by 2030, V2G exports could be enough to power 14 million AC units (7 kW per unit). A Consumer-Centric Approach Consumers lie at the centre of this intricate web, critical to the long-term success of V2G and eventually, V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) operations. Put simply, overlooking customer centricity when designing any type of intelligent EV charging service is an approach doomed to fail. Right now, the concept of using the battery in an EV to power a home or sell electricity back into the grid is largely unknown. Awareness is growing in the automotive and utility sectors, and despite the growth of Australia’s residential battery market, more work must occur to educate consumers. Essentially, we need to demystify the ‘what’ and ‘why’ questions about this ‘new’ technology. While consumers largely support the energy transition, their priority is energy affordability and reliability. Most Australians are happy for the energy transition to move ahead, but they’re largely unwilling to accept higher bills and energy instability to pay for it. In the United Kingdom (UK), OVO Energy conducted the world’s largest-ever V2G trial and found financial incentives lead as the biggest driver for trial participation. Against Australia’s current economic backdrop including cost of living pressures and rising energy bills, it’s easy to assume financial benefits will be a key motivator to unlocking consumer engagement. Building Consumer Trust A successful program must help customers achieve what they want, incentivising their program engagement to get the most value. When broken down, the approach must centre on two key initiatives: making rewards simple yet engaging and investment in education. Rewards and benefits need to be communicated consistently and frequently. This is critical when it comes to securing support for relatively complex technology. Education and trust are at the heart of the future of V2G in Australia. It’s imperative to address concerns and misconceptions around V2G technology and the supporting software head-on. Trust is critical to empowering consumers to get the most out of their EVs. For example, offering something like a ‘charge path’ feature in the customer EV charging application will allow consumers to see how their vehicle will charge in the upcoming minutes and hours, giving them more reason to trust the software optimisation. In a recent project, by educating customers on what the software was doing and the consequences of overriding it, the number of flexible charging hours increased by 141%, enabling more flexible value and cost savings to be generated. When experiences are designed around ease of use and benefits made clear, the adoption rate increases and propels us forward towards a V2G future. A Call for Collaboration The average consumer must interact with at least six different parties to receive the full EV experience. For any consumer seeking to simplify and monetise their energy consumption, this is a complex process adding stress over immediate relief. Australia needs its automotive, government and energy sectors to collaborate, working as one to simplify this experience before consumer engagement deteriorates. This collaboration extends to national EV V2G standards. Each V2G charger must be optimised to import energy when renewable generation is high and automatically export it back to the grid when needed. Policymakers and regulators need to recognise the value of V2G and eventually V2X in meeting growing electrical demand by actively supporting its deployment. This requires a common framework for data sharing and communication, and electricity grid upgrades to accommodate the increased flow of bidirectional energy. Essentially, the wheel does not need to be reinvented at a regulatory level. With the right industry collaboration, policymakers can apply the same processes, rules and policies to V2G as existing technologies like behind-the-meter storage and backup generators. When combined with AI-powered solutions leveraging real-time market signals (wholesale electricity prices, weather and grid data) V2G technology has the potential to make a real impact quickly. Shaping Australia’s V2G Future Ultimately, the success of V2G hinges on consumer education and engagement. By prioritising user experience, simplifying the technology, and providing clear and compelling value propositions, Australia can unlock the full potential of V2G. This will not only benefit individual consumers through reduced energy costs and increased energy independence but also contribute to a more sustainable and resilient energy grid for Australia as a whole. By learning from the successes and challenges of early adopters, Australia has the opportunity to lead the way in developing a consumer-centric V2G ecosystem that sets a new global standard. Author: Gavin Mooney, General Manager Australia, Kaluza The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine. This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com . Popular content Δ By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment. Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so. You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. 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