Electric vehicle-to-grid technology enables the energy stored in an electric vehicle’s (EV’s) battery to be discharged through an EV charger and into the wider electricity system. This concept is of major interest as it can radically increase the utilisation of EV batteries for the financial and non-financial benefit of their owners as well as for the wider electricity system and community. While vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is conceptually a simple proposition, and has been demonstrated in laboratories for decades, deploying V2G services into electricity systems and markets is more complex.

This report reviews all aspects of realising V2G services in the real world. The purpose of this document is to introduce readers to the concept and implementation of vehicle-to-grid services. The authors hope it will be informative for readers from a wide range of backgrounds, regardless of location or field of expertise. This document is also a foundational work for the Realising Electric Vehicle-to-grid Services (REVS) project, of which the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program of the Australian National University is the partner. The REVS project is a trial of V2G using a 51- vehicle fleet of EVs that aims to demonstrate that EVs can deliver frequency support to the live power system via Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM); and to pave the way for the accelerated adoption of V2G services in the NEM.

The perspective is therefore Australian. To provide some basic context, Australia is a laggard in the adoption of EVs compared to other similar countries, but on the other hand has sophisticated and well-developed infrastructures in place that facilitate the NEM. The authors have written the report with both Australian and international audiences in mind and, given that most experience with V2G to date has been gained outside of Australia, many of the included examples are international.