The electric car can become part of the energy system of the future
In the future, the electric car's battery can be used for more than just transport. In an interview with the technology magazine M3, Professor Kent Bertilsson talks about the technology that can turn the electric car into an energy storage for both the home and the electricity grid.
The technology is called vehicle-to-grid, often abbreviated V2G, and means that electric cars are not only charged from the electricity grid, but can also deliver electricity back. With the right technology, your car's battery can work much like a stationary home battery.
In an interview with M3, Kent Bertilsson, professor at Mid Sweden University, describes how the solution can contribute to making the energy system more flexible.
For the technology to work, a bidirectional charger is required that can both charge the car and bring electricity back to the house or the grid. In this way, energy can be stored in the car's battery when electricity is cheap or when production is high, and used later when demand increases.
One possible use is to even out the household's electricity use, for example by cutting power peaks when many appliances are used at the same time.
- The most direct benefit is to cut power peaks and adapt electricity use to the electricity price," says Kent Bertilsson in the interview with M3.
Since the batteries in electric cars are often significantly larger than in many stationary home batteries, there is great potential. At the same time, the car is not always at home when electricity is needed, which means that the technology works best as a complement to the energy system.
Questions about how electric cars, energy storage and smart control can contribute to the energy system of the future are studied, among other things, in the research project Elektrovation. The project focuses on innovative technology for the electrical energy system of the future and how the electricity grid can be used more efficiently as society becomes electrified.
Despite the great potential, V2G is still in its early stages. The technology is currently mainly used in pilot projects and there are several questions to be solved regarding standards, business models and costs before it can have a wider impact.
At the same time, development can be rapid as electricity prices fluctuate more throughout the day and the need for flexibility in the electricity system increases. In such a system, electric cars could become an important resource in the future – not only on the roads, but also in the energy grid.