Vattenfall Netherlands, together with Kia and Hyundai, is launching a pilot for bidirectional charging (Vehicle-to-Grid, V2G), which enables electric cars not only to store electricity but also to feed it back into the electricity grid in a controlled way. In this trial, the cars will function as flexible energy storage to help keep electricity supply and demand better balanced.

The pilot is intended for up to 80 selected households with a Kia EV9 or Hyundai Ioniq9. Participants will receive a bidirectional charging point, including installation. Over the six-month pilot, the kWh charged at home will be reimbursed up to a maximum of €500. By controlling the charging and discharging of car batteries smartly and automatically, the pilot will examine whether electricity can be used more efficiently, for example by deploying it at times of scarcity.

Kia and Hyundai are providing the cars, the charging technology and an app that gives participants insight into their car's charging sessions. Vattenfall will manage the charging and discharging and ensure that the cars automatically respond to electricity demand so that electricity can be fed back into the grid between 4.00 pm and 9.00 pm, when demand is at its highest.

Jeroen van Loon, Director of Customer Solution Development at Vattenfall Netherlands, stated that electric cars are stationary for most of the day and have large batteries, noting that a home battery is usually around 10 kilowatt-hours while an electric car can easily have 50-60 kilowatt-hours of storage. He explained that the pilot explores how to unlock the flexibility of this new generation of cars and gain experience with an energy system that can better adapt to supply and demand.

For participants, little will change in the day-to-day use of their car, as they can set their own preferences, such as departure time or minimum battery percentage, while their car battery contributes to a more stable electricity grid. The pilot is only available for Dutch customers with a Kia EV9 or Hyundai Ioniq9.

This content may be AI-assisted and is composed, reviewed, edited, and approved by S&P Global