£30 million investment into V2G technologies

New technology which will unlock the potential for electric vehicles to help power people’s homes is being boosted by almost £30 million in government funding.

This investment will support vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies that could enable electric cars and other vehicles to deliver electricity back to the smart grid, to light homes and power businesses.

The funding has been awarded to 21 V2G projects, to pay for research and design and development, with the aim of exploring and trialling both the technology itself and commercial opportunities.

These schemes, including EDF Energy’s V2GO scheme, will demonstrate how energy stored in electric vehicle batteries could be borrowed by the electricity system during peak hours, before being recharged during the off-peak in time for their drivers to set off on their next journey.

Using electric vehicles in dense urban areas like Oxford will significantly reduce local emissions and improve air quality, boosting the quality of life for residents and benefitting businesses. Led by EDF Energy R&D UK, the ‘V2GO’ is a large-scale demonstration of V2G charging in Oxford using 100 electric fleet vehicles (cars and vans) from a number of organisations including several delivery and taxi companies.

The project will develop, trial and evaluate potential business models for fleet operators’ use of electric vehicles and their suitability for vehicle to grid (V2G) charging.

The consortium is made up of 8 organisations with expertise in energy and power markets and systems, fleet operation value chains and electric mobility: EDF Energy R&D UK, University of Oxford, Oxfordshire County Council, Arrival, EO Charging, Upside Energy, and Fleet Innovation.

At the same time, these electric vehicles will provide a cleaner alternative to many of the fleet vehicles operated in UK cities, including Royal Mail vans, and Addison Lee taxis.