Vehicle to grid charging by Christmas: Bowen
Bi-directional charging using EVs could be a reality by Christmas after Standards Australia approved new rules, according to Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen.
“The… opportunity we have in our renewable energy transformation is to ensure that households are in charge of the resources that they have available to them: on their roof,
in their garage – in their battery in the garage, and increasingly in the battery that sits in
their driveway,” Mr Bowen said.
“The battery that sits in their driveway will in almost all circumstances be much more
powerful than the battery that's in their garage.”
Mr Bowen told the Sydney International EV Show in Sydney this month that Standards
Australia “has ticked off the new standard that will allow vehicle to grid charging”.
Manufacturers that enable vehicle-to-grid charging and those charging companies that enable it, have to register their products with the Clean Energy Council and get approval
for each product.
“They'll have to meet the standard that's been ticked off by Standards Australia, but where we've got manufacturers and OEMs who are on board for that and it all happens smoothly,
we'll be able to have bi-directional charging a reality by Christmas this year.
“I am encouraging manufacturers both of vehicles and charging infrastructure to get their act together and get their applications into the Clean Energy Council.
“I'm sure they will; they've been waiting for this. It's not going to happen overnight for everyone. Not every manufacturer is at the same place, but it's now going
to be enabled in our system.”
Mr Bowen also announced the Government was making $100 million available for heavy vehicle decarbonisation through ARENA.
“Companies and others can apply for innovative charging for new technologies for rollout of heavy vehicle decarbonisation,” he said.
“I've not yet met a driver of a heavy vehicle who switched to electric who says they want to go back. Easier to drive, better to drive, quieter to drive, cleaner to drive,
and a more pleasurable driving experience.”