Australia could secure 3-5GWh of V2X bidirectional charging in one year, says RedEarth

Indeed, readers of Energy-Storage.news will be aware of various initiatives being conducted with the technology to prove its commercialisation and availability for global grids and consumers.

The US has advocated for greater inclusion of this technology in its energy mix. In April 2024, Maryland became the first US state to pass legislation requiring utilities to allow EVs with bidirectional chargers to connect to the distribution grid.

In Asia, India’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA) recently issued a report identifying the potential for bidirectional EV charging to serve as a grid resource and bolster stability as the country transitions to variable renewable energy generation.

Australia now intends to get involved with the V2X revolution. This month, V2X technology will be implemented in Australia via a new standards agreement announced by the country’s energy minister, Chris Bowen, in early November.

This has captured the attention of those within Australia’s V2X sector. One such company is RedEarth Energy Storage, a Queensland-based energy storage solutions provider set to enter the V2X space via an agreement with DC EV charging firm ambibox.

To learn more about the potential of V2G in Australia, Energy-Storage.news speaks with Charlie Walker, CEO and co-founder and Marc Sheldon, chief operating officer at RedEarth.

The inclusion of V2G in Australia

Sheldon notes that the new standards agreement is not new legislation but a code modification that an installer must abide by. The code in question is AS/NZS 4777.1:2024.

“This is our grid code standard; it is what every generation device connected to the grid needs to abide by, whether they be a solar inverter, battery inverter, or any other generation device that sits behind,” Sheldon says. “It has the testing requirements that the device needs to be able to fulfil.”

To receive certification for V2G technologies, companies would need to sidestep and go through the “solar and battery inverter piece”, which, according to Sheldon, did not work well.

Australian standards have validated the amendment to the code, which “explicitly spells out and stipulates the testing requirements for V2G technologies”, Sheldon says. This means any charger will need to abide by these rules.

“It’s very straightforward,” Sheldon explains. “It is not at all complicated and relatively straightforward, especially when comparing it to Europe and the US. From our perspective, that’s what Bowen was talking about. It is now possible to deploy a system like that, should you have it, and connect it to the grid without any problems.

“It’s opened up that part of the market without having the difficulties and certification or obligation.”

Another argument Sheldon raises concerns about optimising an EV. From a mobility perspective, a car usually spends around 5% of its lifetime on the roads being driven, with 95% of its life usually at a standstill, not being used. Because of this, the value proposition of V2X in supplying energy to the grid or home could attract an influx of new buyers.

“That’s the critical piece here. You’d basically have over 40kWh available to you, and you’d be able to time shift, even if you don’t have a solar PV system on your roof, you’d charge the car up during daylight hours,” Sheldon says. “You can also participate in the wholesale arbitrage market.”

There is, however, an elephant in the room when it comes to both EVs and V2X technologies. Despite the long-term savings that they could bring and the carbon reduction achieved in the case of EVs, these are still expensive technologies.

According to WhichCar, an online site that provides information on buying new vehicles, the cheapest new EVs are around the AU$40,000 (US$25,300) mark to drive away, with most model centres seeing prices of between AU$60,000 and AU$80,000.

“It [a bidirectional charger] is a big investment. I get that. But every car is a big investment, so you’re just adding the charger on top of that,” Sheldon says. “But it helps with grid security, storage, time shifting, and grid capabilities.”

Despite the technology’s advantages, there is still a lack of a business case in Australia for fleet operators in Australia. However, with the technology’s costs expected to come down in the future and a broader understanding of the benefits it can provide to buildings and the grid alike, this will likely change as the technology matures.

“The business cases aren’t really there yet [for fleet operators], and you have to think very carefully about that because it comes down to whether I will make my car available to a third party. That’s an interesting question,” RedEarth COO Sheldon says.

Battery degradation and 3-5GWh of energy storage a day

One pivotal question surrounding V2X technologies continues to be its impact on battery degradation, especially given that batteries are often expensive for drivers to replace.

“To answer your question, yes, it [V2X] accelerates the degradation,” Walker explains. “But all EVs have too much battery lifetime for the duration of the vehicle.

“The battery is forecast to last 800,000km for a Tesla base Model 3. By then, the rest of the car will start falling apart. Stationary storage is very gentle on the battery, whereas mobile storage is extremely violent on the battery, and they don’t like it.”

Another revelation made by RedEarth is its target for the first year of selling its new bidirectional chargers. Walker tells Energy-Storage.news that the company hopes to secure a 30% market share of the 3,000 to 5,000 bidirectional chargers expected to be sold within the first year. However, the real interest comes from the energy storage potential this could bring to Australia.

“This is too conservative, but let’s say that around 2kWh per charger is available daily to the grid. That would give us 3.2GWh for the year. If this becomes around 5kWh or 10kWh, it gets to 10GWh quickly. That’s the first year the market adopts a new product. It’s very easy to imagine what happens in years two to five,” Walker says.