Denmark is testing whether an electric car can do far more than get someone from point A to point B, as Electrive reports.
During a new pilot program, EVs could help power homes, lower electricity costs, and keep the lights on during blackouts.
What happened?
Selected Danish households will take part in a new bidirectional-charging trial being run by charging company Clever and EV maker Polestar, the companies announced in a press release.
The project will examine whether the vehicle can act as an emergency home backup during an outage, send electricity to the grid during high-use periods, and cover household power needs when demand at home is especially high.
"We are now taking V2X from a vision of the future to everyday reality," Clever CEO Christina Fink said in the release. "Denmark will be one of the first places where the electric car not only uses electricity but can also deliver it back to the home and the electricity grid when needed."
For the test, participants will use the Polestar 4 along with DC wallboxes built for two-way charging and V2X capabilities, the companies revealed.
Bidirectional charging and V2X are not standard on the Polestar 4, but Polestar said it enabled them for this pilot and plans to offer them commercially later via an over-the-air update.
Why does it matter?
Those large EV batteries spend most of their time parked, which is why they could become a flexible energy resource.
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Electrive noted the country's EVs already amount to "more than 600,000 large-scale power banks" on Danish roads, and if even part of that fleet can feed electricity back to homes or the grid, it could help reduce strain on the wider energy system.
That could mean using a car battery to avoid expensive electricity during peak pricing hours, then charging it back up when rates are lower. It could also provide backup during storms or outages, helping keep refrigerators, internet service, lights, and other essentials running when the grid goes down.
Battery storage is increasingly one of the most practical ways to improve energy security at home. Whether that stored power comes from a dedicated household battery or, someday, from the EV in your driveway, having electricity on hand can save money, save time, and make blackouts far less disruptive.
EnergySage's free tools can provide information about home battery storage options, including competitive estimates for the installation. The company has also teamed up with Qmerit, an electrification company, to offer the best price on home battery storage solutions.
Pila is another company that offers battery backup options, with the company's plug-and-play batteries providing a more affordable option than whole-home systems.
What are people saying?
Henrik Bang, managing director of Polestar Denmark, pointed to the potential of the pilot project to shift the landscape.
"In the future, the electric vehicle will not only transport people, but also energy," Bang said in the release. "This is a huge opportunity that puts consumers and their cars at the centre of the green energy transition."
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