What does V2G consist of?

V2G, also known as bi-directional charging, is one of the smart-charging solutions, which refers to all technologies aimed at optimising the charging, or even discharging, of an electric vehicle, by managing the vehicle's charging power in an efficient, flexible and economical way.

The V2G solution is mainly aimed at companies and local authorities whose fleets remain parked for part of the time. In France, it is marketed by Izivia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the EDF group, which specialises in charging infrastructure.

V2G, a winning trio for the environment, users and the electrical grid.

Active contribution to the decarbonization of the company vehicle fleet, but not only... by making it possible to:

  • recharge the electric vehicle when electricity is the least carbon-intensive;
  • store renewable electricity, which is by definition variable, in the batteries when it is produced in excess;
  • supply company sites and buildings without increasing stress on the grid.

Attractive low-carbon mobility solution for users... by allowing:

  • implicit gains directly generated on the energy bill (e.g. charging the vehicle more during off-peak hours and discharging for the benefit of the building during peak hours, to enable the latter to consume as little as possible);
  • explicit gains, in the form of additional income in proportion to the service provided to the network.

Contribution to the equilibrium of the electricity system.

An electric vehicle is a battery of several dozen kWh that is parked about 95% of the time. By aggregating the batteries of the hundreds of vehicles in the project, the virtual storage capacity would be 8.36 MW.

By activating the charging and discharging of the batteries of a large number of electric vehicles in a few seconds, this solution may contribute to the smooth running and equilibrium of the French and European electricity systems.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.