UK Considers Incentivizing Carmakers to Equip EVs to Supply Energy to Grids

The United Kingdom is considering wide-scale vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology adoption as a means of supplementing its energy supplies. Electric cars equipped with this technology essentially become mobile power plants capable of feeding energy into the grid. While some modern EVs come equipped with V2G capabilities, the vast majority of the electric cars on the road don’t have this technology.

EVs with V2G capabilities automatically charge when demand for electricity is low and prices are cheap, typically overnight while people sleep, and can sell some of this energy to the grid when energy demand peaks between 5-9pm. V2G limits the strain electric cars put on the electricity supply by limiting charging to low-demand hours, while simultaneously supplementing electricity supplies when the grid is most stressed.

Ministers in the UK are now considering incentives that would encourage vehicle manufacturers to incorporate V2G technology in their vehicles as part of the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate review. With potentially millions of vehicles feeding energy back into the national grid, or even into the driver’s home via V2H, the UK would have an easier time balancing renewable energy intermittency as it transitions from internal combustion engine (ICE) cars to electric vehicles in earnest.

Unlike traditional fossil fuel plants that can generate energy at any time, renewables like solar and wind are constrained by their reliance on specific weather and climatic conditions. Solar panels need a bright, cloudless sky to work at maximum efficiency and are effectively useless at night, while wind turbines can’t function when there’s no wind. V2G technology can fill in the supply gaps, reducing grid load and making it unnecessary to fire up costly gas-fired power plants.

On the other hand, some groups say including V2G incentives in the ZEV mandates could have the unintended consequences of facilitating fossil fuel vehicle sales. According to campaign groups, the credits automakers earn from incorporating V2G technology into their vehicles would also allow them to sell gasoline cars and face no fines even if they miss ZEV targets.

With the UK government set to slash EV sales targets under the mandate, environmental groups are already projecting that the transport industry will emit an extra 147 million tons of carbon by 2050. According to New AutoMotive chief executive Ben Nelmes, V2G does have the potential to aid in efforts to balance the UK’s grid and cut energy prices, but automakers should only be rewarded if the technology is ‘actually used,’ not just installed in a car.

It remains to be seen whether the incentives being mulled can attract buyers of electric vehicles made by firms like Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE) that target wealthy customers.

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