Technology that allows electric cars to send power back to the energy grid has expanded to Australia's largest electricity providers, available to Hyundai, Kia, Zeekr, and/or BYD owners.
Electric Cars
Australia's two biggest electricity providers – Origin Energy and AGL – have become the latest to announce access to vehicle-to-grid (V2G), technology which allows select electric vehicles (EVs) to send power back to the grid.
The 12-month AGL trial is the more comprehensive of the two, which opens to expressions of interest this week for owners of "select" Hyundai, Kia, BYD and Zeekr vehicles.
It has greater scope than earlier V2G trials, covering customers living under "all the major national electricity market (NEM) Distribution Network Service Providers (DNSPs) in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and SA," according to AGL.
The energy giant says it is "working with the four manufacturers" to guarantee participants that the V2G program will not impact the car's battery warranty.
It also includes up to 320kWh of free energy each month – said to be equivalent to 24,000km annually – provided the car is plugged into the V2G charger for at least 12 hours per day, 20 days per month.
It is limited to only 50 customers, who must subscribe to the car via salary packaging (novated leasing), and it does not commence until sometime in 2026.
Customers in the Origin trial must live "within a distribution network that will permit the installation and operation of the included V2G charger," according to the company.
Among the providers confirmed to support vehicle-to-grid technology are Ausgrid and Essential Energy in NSW, and SA Power Networks in South Australia.
Vehicle-to-grid technology allows the batteries in electric cars to be used as energy storage, sending electricity back to the grid in exchange for "extra credits to help lower home energy usage costs."
Owners can use their electric cars to power their home in peak periods, when electricity is more expensive, before recharging the car at a later time, when it is cheaper.
AGL says its "smart software" manages the process and ensures "customers' EV is charged and ready to drive when needed."
"AGL is also working towards expanding this trial so that customers maintain control with the ability to tell AGL’s V2G platform when they want their car charged and ready to drive," it said in a media release.
The first 50 eligible AGL trial participants will receive a discount on the bi-directional charger – including its installation – which will lower it to "about the cost of [a] regular EV charger," an AGL spokesperson told Drive.
"The learnings from this trial will allow us to use feedback from participants to roll out a V2G proposition for AGL’s customers with EVs in 2026," AGL Head of Innovation and Strategy, Renae Gasmier, said in a media statement.
V2G is most often associated with the CHAdeMO charging plug – as fitted to vehicles such as the electric Nissan Leaf and plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander – but the latest trials focus on cars with the much more common CCS2 port.
Among the vehicles included is the BYD Atto 3, which Drive understands will require modifications to be fitted by the manufacturer – which will be exclusive to trial participants, rather than publicly available – to unlock V2G.
It is believed no other BYD vehicles are included in the AGL program, though Drive understands the Shark 6 and Sealion 6 plug-in hybrids are under consideration for future V2G trials.
Hyundai Australia CEO Don Romano said the brand is "proud" to the part of the trial, Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith called V2G technology a "game changer", and BYD Australia chief product officer Sajid Hasan said it is "another exciting step forward" for electric cars.
AGL vehicle-to-grid trial – eligible models
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
