About 16 EVs fed power back into Australia’s electricity grid during a major grid emergency in February.
The experiment formed part of a research project led by The Australian National University (ANU), and was the first test in Australia that proves a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system can support the national grid.
JET Charge partnered with ANU and Realising Electric Vehicle-to-grid Services (REVS), to establish the technology to discharge power from EVs into Australia’s national power grid.
The study monitored a fleet of 51 Nissan Leaf EVs installed across Canberra with V2G chargers that had been specified, procured and delivered with JET Charge’s technology.
“We believe that V2G is an invaluable source of support for our grid,” says JET Charge chief executive Tim Washington.
“Last year, our team coordinated the market certification for the first and only V2G charger sold in the Australian market,” he says
“This project was the next step in proving that V2G charging can provide power solutions for the grid during irregularities and also generate revenue for customers by participating in what’s known as the contingency frequency control market.”
The blackout on February 13 was caused by major storms in Melbourne and blew over high-voltage transmission towers, triggering the disconnection of Loy Yang coal power station and two wind farms.
JET Charge’s control system technology allowed the vehicles to monitor the grid when plugged in, detect when it was out of balance and respond by sending signals to all connected charging stations that instructs the vehicles to discharge.
While 90,000 homes had their power cut, in Canberra 16 of the REVS electric vehicles were plugged in at properties – four were charging, while 12 were idle – and responded within seconds by rapidly discharging short bursts of electricity into the grid
ANU’s lead researcher Dr Bjorn Sturmberg says this is the first time in the world this type of V2G response to an emergency has been demonstrated.
“In total, the vehicles provided 107 kilowatts of support to the national grid,” he says.
“To put that in perspective, 105,000 vehicles responding in this way would fully cover the backup required for the whole of ACT and NSW.”
Tim Washington says that with almost 100,000 EVs sold in Australia last year, and that number rapidly rising, Australia isn’t far off being able to prevent national grid emergencies and major blackouts through V2G charging.
While this is promising, the study also identified that an increase in vehicle charging during the same period can reduce the effects of V2G charging.
Once the REVS vehicles had provided power for 10 minutes, some resumed charging by default.
Stumberg says that “by stopping just 60,000 vehicles from charging, the power would have remained on for those 90,000 customers.”
The report suggests this issue can be solved by an industry adjustment such as requiring EV manufacturers to program their vehicles to stop charging during a grid emergency, with an option for drivers to override for urgent charging.
“I’ve watched EV technology develop rapidly over the last 10 years,” says Washington. “Helping demonstrate the power of EVs to potentially support our grid during national emergencies – that has to be up there with our big milestones.”
Meanwhile, Nissan aims to launch affordable V2G technology from 2026, starting in the UK and expanding to European markets and probably other countries like Australia and New Zealand.
By using Nissan’s on-board bi-directional V2G technology, customers can cut the annual cost of powering an EV by half, the brand says, adding it intends offering its AC bi-directional charger at a price comparable to a mono-directional charger available today.
Nissan says its V2G system will give customers complete control and flexibility over their energy via a dedicated App, including allowing Nissan EV owners to sell power.
