In May, with the emergence of another welfare policy in Guangzhou, V2G technology, also known as Vehicle to Grid, returned to the public eye once again.

It is reported that in the next three years, Guangzhou will provide up to 20 million yuan of special financial support annually for the pilot of vehicle network interaction, encouraging new energy vehicles to transmit electricity to the grid in reverse, with a maximum reward of 5 yuan per kilowatt hour.

The new policy is not groundless.

In March, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Virtual Power Plants" and proposed that by 2027 and 2030, the regulating capacity of virtual power plants in China should reach over 20 million kilowatts and over 50 million kilowatts respectively.

In April, the National Development and Reform Commission and four other ministries jointly issued the "Notice on Announcing the First Batch of Pilot Projects for Large scale Application of Car Network Interaction" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), which included nine cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen in the scope of the first batch of pilot projects for large-scale application of car network interaction.

Is it reliable for new energy vehicles to sell electricity in reverse by buying a "mobile power bank" for hundreds of thousands of yuan?

Despite recent measures, V2G and its potential business models were already proposed as early as 2015. Given the enormous energy storage potential of new energy vehicles, in recent years, major car companies have been focusing on the layout of V2G.

In 2020, Audi announced a partnership with Germany's Hagrid Electric Group to conduct innovative research on bidirectional charging using Audi e-tron models, aiming to integrate electric vehicles into household power grids. In 2021, Volkswagen announced the launch of V2G bidirectional charging technology for all pure electric vehicle models from the group's MEB platform starting from 2022, hoping to become the first European automaker to put V2G into commercial use. BMW's V2G testing has been ongoing since 2015.

Is it reliable for new energy vehicles to sell electricity in reverse by buying a "mobile power bank" for hundreds of thousands of yuan?

Domestic car companies are not lagging behind either. As early as 2020, Dongfeng Motor Corporation collaborated with State Grid Corporation of China, the world's largest power company, to integrate electric vehicle infrastructure into green power trading and promote the application of vehicle grid interaction technology.

In 2021, BYD announced a partnership with Levo Mobility, with Levo committing to purchase up to 5000 BYD commercial vehicles with vehicle network interaction capabilities over the next five years.

It can be seen that although the concept has been proposed for more than ten years and cold rice has been stir fried several times, V2G has not really landed yet.

This time, with the implementation of new regulations for new energy vehicle batteries and the government's real financial support, can V2G technology truly be popularized, making reverse power supply for new energy vehicles the next profitable opportunity for car owners or enterprises?

01 Business model dilemma still difficult to overcome

Before discussing this issue, let me explain V2G technology in detail. It refers to the bidirectional flow of electricity between new energy vehicles and the power grid. A large number of new energy vehicles can serve as a buffer between the power grid and renewable energy, acting as a dynamic balance reservoir for electricity.

During periods of low electricity costs and non peak electricity consumption, electric vehicles use the power grid for charging, and during peak electricity consumption periods, electric vehicles can sell electricity back to the grid.

Simply put, it is to transform new energy vehicles into "mobile power banks". Vehicles can be charged from the power grid and discharged during peak load periods, achieving bidirectional energy flow through "valley charging and peak discharging".

Is it reliable for new energy vehicles to sell electricity in reverse by buying a "mobile power bank" for hundreds of thousands of yuan?

Taking the typical V2G urban networking pilot project for heavy-duty truck charging and swapping stations in Shanghai as an example in the Notice, the project has put into operation five intelligent bidirectional new energy electric heavy-duty truck swapping stations with a total equipment capacity of nearly 9000 kilowatts, which can support high-speed swapping of more than 20 electric heavy-duty trucks at the same time.

The 500 new energy electric heavy-duty trucks connected are all equipped with CTB-400 vehicle storage shared batteries, with a cumulative battery capacity of 200000 kWh and an annual discharge capacity of 260000 kWh, equivalent to providing one year's electricity consumption for 500 households.

For new energy vehicle owners, the idea of making money through V2G has feasible space. In the provincial vehicle network interaction conducted by Southern Power Grid in March, with a subsidy of 3.5 yuan per kilowatt hour of electricity, some new energy vehicle owners discharged 25.76 kWh and received a profit of 90.16 yuan.

From a more macro perspective, the potential of the V2G market is equally enormous. Economically, data from the Energy Storage Leaders Alliance (EESA) shows that the V2G market is growing rapidly and is expected to grow from $3.78 billion in 2023 to $45.09 billion in 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 57.6%. At the societal level, V2G can not only help the power grid reduce valley and peak load, but also enhance the utilization of clean energy such as wind and solar energy through macroeconomic regulation, reducing dependence on non renewable energy such as oil, coal, and natural gas.

Is it reliable for new energy vehicles to sell electricity in reverse by buying a "mobile power bank" for hundreds of thousands of yuan?

Under the enormous economic growth potential and the impact of changes on the energy ecosystem, countries are competing to lay out their strategies. However, under the grand blueprint, the dilemma of its commercialization model has yet to be overcome.

Although it is just a simple reverse power supply, it involves three parties: vehicles, piles, and networks. Cars need to have reverse discharge function, which has almost become a standard feature for new energy vehicles in recent years.

Charging piles need to undergo bidirectional transmission upgrades. Currently, the price of charging and discharging piles is basically twice that of ordinary charging piles, and the investment cost is high. There is still a certain distance from large-scale popularization. The power grid needs to coordinate with its vehicles and piles, establish a comprehensive communication protocol between vehicles and piles, and unify the electricity price settlement mechanism.

Beyond infrastructure, a more serious issue is the low enthusiasm of car owners to participate. During the NPC and CPPCC sessions this year, some NPC deputies proposed to turn new energy vehicles into "power packs". However, from the public opinion reaction, the public were skeptical about this, especially worried about the attenuation of batteries caused by frequent charging and discharging, and the money earned from discharging was not enough to replace batteries.

The number of times a battery is charged and discharged has a significant impact on its lifespan, and taking a small price difference is simply not enough to compensate for the battery loss

Is it equivalent to me spending hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy a mobile power bank

Is it reliable for new energy vehicles to sell electricity in reverse by buying a "mobile power bank" for hundreds of thousands of yuan?

Industry insiders have stated that the lithium iron phosphate batteries used in new energy vehicles can be charged and discharged up to 3000 times, and even if they are charged and discharged once a day, they are still within the normal lifespan of the battery.

However, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers previously released a new energy vehicle battery health evaluation report, which showed that the 2019 Tesla Model 3 had a battery health level of 89.3% after driving 116000 kilometers; After driving 103000 kilometers, the battery health of the Ideal ONE 2020 model was only 75.6%, and the battery health decreased by nearly 25% in 4 years. The higher battery degradation of extended range vehicles may be related to frequent use of pure electric mode, resulting in repeated charging and discharging of the battery.

Apart from doubts about battery degradation, the benefits of car owners discharging are not very high. In the first case of reverse power transmission or subsidy for new energy vehicles in Sichuan, the owner discharged for 10 minutes, the vehicle discharged 5.2 kWh, and the discharge income was only 5.2 yuan.

The car owner also calculated their own account, 'The car battery capacity is about 40 kWh. If 80% of the electricity in the car is sold through V2G, at a price of about 0.2 yuan per kWh for charging during low periods and 1 yuan per kWh for discharging during peak periods, each transaction can earn a profit of about 25 yuan from the price difference.'. ”

The price of 25 yuan may seem reasonable, but it requires car owners to rush to the car for charging during low demand periods and discharge during peak electricity consumption periods. The time, distance, and time spent on charging and discharging are all included in the back and forth, which cannot be considered cost-effective.

In addition, there are still a few private vehicle stations equipped with V2G, and most operations need to be completed at public vehicle stations, which will also have a certain impact on car owners who have charging needs during peak periods. In this case, the charging potential will be occupied, and more people will have no place to charge! "" Everyone wants to charge low-priced electricity, and no one wants to charge high priced electricity. When charging at night, the electricity price will still rise at night

02 New National Standard, Battery Swap Bonus, Turning Point Coming Soon

At present, V2G technology still lacks fertile ground for deep cultivation. However, this situation may be reversed with the implementation of the new national standard for power batteries next year and the popularization of battery swapping modes.

On the one hand, the "Safety Requirements for Power Batteries for Electric Vehicles" will be officially implemented in July next year, and the upgraded new national standard has made new regulations on fast charging cycles, which will reduce battery degradation.

In the field of commercial electricity, the new energy external discharge model has been recognized. Some netizens have stated that the second-hand energy vehicle they purchased for 30000 yuan in 2022 is equipped with a 50 degree battery. After undergoing a 7.5KW external discharge modification, it can be fully charged at home for 0.3 yuan/degree and then used as an external discharge power source to supply power to the store.

Based on the daily electricity consumption of 30 kWh in the store and the commercial electricity cost of 1.5 yuan/kWh, using new energy vehicles as an external power source can help save 11000 yuan in electricity bills annually.

This also proves the feasibility of using new energy vehicles as external power banks.

Is it reliable for new energy vehicles to sell electricity in reverse by buying a "mobile power bank" for hundreds of thousands of yuan?

On the other hand, the battery swapping track is gradually maturing, and after NIO, battery giant CATL has also made a strong entry. Against the backdrop of fast charging and supercharging gradually becoming standard, and the weakening of the advantages of battery swapping, the battery swapping model is shifting from a simple promotional tool to exploring the full lifecycle value of batteries as core assets. And V2G is the key way to achieve this value.

Under the bonus of battery swapping mode, the idea of earning profits by replacing fully charged batteries with fewer batteries can significantly reduce the required time, and car owners no longer need to worry about battery degradation. The utilization rate of the battery will be maximized. In addition, through battery swapping stations and V2G technology, the recycling process will be simplified after the battery health decreases.

Is it reliable for new energy vehicles to sell electricity in reverse by buying a "mobile power bank" for hundreds of thousands of yuan?

In addition to individual car owners, fast charging, overcharging, and battery swapping have a wider potential for development in the B-end market. The battery volume and scale of commercial vehicles are larger, and unified management is easier to coordinate. Centralized charging and discharging can not only expand the profit channels of enterprises, but also greatly balance the coordination of the power grid.

For car and battery companies, with their natural advantages in resource controllability, large-scale aggregation, and integration with the electricity market, they have shown great potential to become the main drivers of V2G commercialization.

With the orderly operation of multiple pilot projects and strong policy support, along with the promotion of battery swapping mode and the implementation of new battery regulations next year, it is soon to be seen whether V2G technology can be widely spread and become another means of increasing income for private car owners and enterprises.

Even if the expected results are not achieved, V2G has already pointed out a new path for distributed energy storage, bringing a new possibility for grid coordination.

Its significance will inevitably be highlighted at some point in the future.