With soaring energy bills showing no signs of slowing down, UK families are looking for ways to ease cost of living pressures. Now, Octopus Energy and the National Grid have come up with a new solution, as they announce the first successful integration of vehicle-to-grid technology (V2G) in the UK.
With this technology, electric vehicle owners can effectively turn their car into a battery pack that can power their home “off-grid”. The technology would charge their EV during off-peak hours when demand is low and electricity is cheaper.
By acting as a reserve of electricity, the vehicle could then power the home during peak hours of the day, when electricity is expensive. According to a statement from Octopus, this marked the first time that V2G technology has been demonstrated in the UK, to show that electric vehicles can receive a direct signal from the ESO to support system balancing, as seen in The Express.
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They said: “It marks a major turning point in electricity supply and means that in the future, consumers could play a direct role in balancing the national transmission system through their electric vehicles.”
Conducting a series of tests over the past month, the energy supplier studied the batteries of up to 20 EVs by charging them and discharging them to the grid at times of imbalance. They found that by sending power back to the grid, a million EVs could generate as much power as 5,500 onshore wind turbines.
Separate analysis from Octopus Electric Vehicles found that taken for the whole, EVs could save Britons a combined £62million a year on their energy bills. Even those who don’t own an EV would save through grid balancing reduction costs.
Further Octopus analysis shows customers could realise a potential saving of up to £840 per year, compared to unscheduled charging on a flat rate tariff. Several large car brands - including Hyundai and Volkswagen - have committed to including V2G technology in their new EVs, further emphasising the potential of the technology.
Claire Miller, director of technology and innovation at Octopus Electric Vehicles, said: “This is a real ‘line in the sand’ moment for V2G tech.
“We have shown that this technology is capable of helping to balance our future, green grid, to the benefit of people and the planet. We’ve proved what is possible with the technology and cars that are currently on the market, and this is only going to grow.
“Soon we will have millions of electric cars sitting on driveways capable of storing and exporting green energy back to the grid when it needs it most - and once the vehicle to grid proposition is ready to be launched, these cars will help to support our renewables expansion and taking us a huge step closer to net zero.”
Jake Rigg, corporate affairs director at the National Grid ESO, said: “Vehicle-to-grid technology opens the door for everyone to engage in our electricity system, in a way that we can all benefit from. The next steps for us are to take these learnings and work with industry on how we develop and deploy a balancing mechanism service for V2G.
“The trial findings will also influence future innovation projects, including the CrowdFlex project we are currently developing with industry, to establish additional routes for consumer engagement in electricity networks.”
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