During an electricity blackout in Melbourne, a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) were able to feed power back into Australia’s electricity grid, according to a report from the Australian National University (ANU).

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which uses the batteries of EVs to balance electricity load on the grid, has been demonstrated through a number of lab tests and field trials.

V2G charging enables energy to flow bi-directionally – from the grid into an EV and back again. This means that the high-capacity batteries also act as backup storage cells for the electrical grid, and can be used as extra energy to power houses, buildings and anything else connected to the grid.

Another potential application of V2G EVs is as a backup in case of unforeseen power cuts – for example, during a storm. This was recently the case in Australia. On 13 February 2024, a major storm in Victoria resulted in the power being cut to around 90,000 homes in Melbourne. A fleet of 16 V2G EVs responded and...