The NRMA has announced a new partnership to research how electric vehicle batteries can be used as energy storage through bi-directional charging.
The partnership with the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures and transport research centre iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre will deliver research into bi-directional charging technology. It will allow the NRMA to better support its members and the wider community as new vehicle-to-grid/vehicle-to-everything (V2G/V2X) technology emerges.
“With the growth of EV sales in Australia, there is increasing attention toward how the electricity grid can handle the surge in demand from EV charging,” says the NRMA.
“This research will explore how EVs can be harnessed as mobile energy storage to deliver value to Australian households as well as benefits to the grid. This project builds on previous V2G research and trials by extending the focus to understanding the consumer journey, barriers to adoption and how these could be overcome.”
EV chargers currently use unidirectional charging and only allow power to go one-way into the vehicle battery. Bi-directional charging effectively allows an EV to be used as a home battery, storing the energy until it is needed in the home or back into the grid at peak times.
According to the NRMA, millions of homes across Australia now have solar panels but only a small percentage have a home battery to store their excess electricity.
“Bi-directional charging can potentially open up more opportunities for those who drive an EV to power their home at times when solar is unavailable or deliver energy back into the grid for other users,” says the NRMA.
NRMA Chief Strategy Officer Vivian Miles says the research and advocacy partnership provides opportunities to understand how vehicle-to-grid technology could be rolled out across Australian homes.
“As Australia’s largest mutual representing more than three million members, we want to ensure our members and communities understand and benefit from the shift towards electric transport,” she says.
“A key area for the NRMA to explore is how EVs can fit and enhance our members’ lives –
bi-directional charging is a really exciting development that has the potential to save our members money.
“Rather than straining the system at a time when we are shifting to more fluctuating renewable energy, EVs could provide a solution to both the clean energy and clean transport transition by becoming a battery on wheels.”
