Organized by SGO, the V2G Forum held on October 17-19, 2023 in Detroit brought together 160 key industry stakeholders from utility, auto OEM, and other market segments to discuss business, policy and technology issues facing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) deployment in the U.S.  Below is a summary of key takeaways from presentations and discussions at this Forum:
V2G Potential
V2G has huge potential to upend how we make, store and use electricity. EPRI estimates that just for CA, V2G can generate over $670 mil to 1 billion/year in CA Ratepayer benefits in 2030 -- significantly more than V1G.1 Furthermore, total EV battery capacity is projected to exceed total US peak electricity demand in 2035.2 V2G as the potential make this resource a dispatchable reality for the U.S. grid.
In transforming EV charging from an infrastructure cost to a revenue-generating asset, one recent pilot of 20 bidirectional chargers and Nissan LEAF vehicles, and 2 commercial office buildings in downtown Toronto, found that V2G resulted in in ~$6,000 annual utility bill savings per EV (USD).
Utilities and customers of one location, primarily on the coasts, are at a very different place on the adoption curve for EVs (and plans for V2G) than those in other locations like the south or plains states.
1. Open Standards-Based Vehicle-to-Grid: Value Assessment (epri.com)
2. Presented at an October 2022 EPRI Webex. Based on EIA projections of EV populations
Benefits of V2G for Utilities and Fleets
The mass adoption of EVs poses risks for distribution grids. Also, the transition to renewable energy requires utilities to deploy storage resources. V2G can help grid operators meet these challenges. For fleets, the upfront costs of electric vehicles are still a barrier to mass adoption, and charging infrastructure is a bottleneck for fleet transition to electric. V2G can address these issues as well.
Customer Attitudes Toward V2G
By 2028 IHS expects the annual share of bidirectional-capable light-duty EVs sold to grow from 6% today to 30%. The financial and reliability benefit of installing a V2H home integration system is strong for some customers today – vehicle-to-home integration systems can serve as the catalyst for unlocking the value of vehicle-to-grid. Southern California Edison has found that at least half of customers are interested in participating in VGI programs, with over 80% showing at least some interest in V2G. However, there is a need to establish an incentive for consumption behind the meter, which is currently missing. At present, customers are more interested in providing power to their home than the grid.
Standardization
V2G standards are progressing, especially in California, but a) nascent ad-hoc regulatory development to date at the state level, and b) lack of utility and auto industry cultural alignment are hurdles yet to be addressed. We need to utilize existing standards, continue to develop and update current standards, and develop true interoperability testing and compliance processes/certification. Interoperability and standards harmonization from the DERMs perspective is necessary at all control levels.
To succeed at in reaching transportation decarbonization goals, standardizing functionality and protocols for the charging infrastructure is critical. Key observations along these lines:
• We need coherent policy across jurisdictions in the U.S.
• Fragmented policy landscape makes vendor business cases for the US challenging
• The good news is that policy development is accelerating as we speak
• The opportunity is so compelling we can’t afford not to try to make V2G happen!
Economic Value
V2G reduces total cost of EV ownership, but value varies depending on the mobility use case. Fleet vehicles with V2G compatibility and available commercial (3 phase) chargers are economic in certain regions today – IF connected behind the right type of meter (this is based on recently conducted pilots). The key is to consider compatibility of both mobility and grid services time-of-use profiles (e.g., V2G school buses, garbage trucks, certain delivery fleets, etc.
Vehicle-grid integration needs a holistic approach; it will not be one-size-fits-all (e.g., a combination of V1G, paired stationary storage & V2G for different use cases and customer needs).
V2X can create value for generation, transmission, and distribution. Significant further value will be unlocked by V2G interoperability, but hardware availability isn’t there yet. This value can take the form of:
• Passive participation – mass market passenger vehicles at home and at work
• Active software-enabled participation – such as ride-share fleets
One of the limiting factors to the growth of V2G is the lack of compensation opportunities and limited insight as to the compensation value of V2G, which makes the business case for adoption for customers and industry players difficult.
Key Takeaways for Policy Makers
There is a need for incremental funding and clear policy signals valuing V2G over V1G to support the nascent industry & drive tech availability.
The aim is to enable V2G and VPPs to participate in energy markets and compete on a level playing field, but in the near term, there is a place for targeted programs as an interim solution – perfect can be the enemy of the good.
>> Now is the time to scale from pilot projects to pilot programs, to enable a real-world learning curve ahead of mass adoption
If V2G is so great, what’s holding it back? Answer: The dip between today’s status quo and a transactive energy grid. Participants must re-evaluate what business they’re in, because the status quo presents significant challenges: a) Utilities and their core competencies, and b) the current grid is a delivery-only network. Regulatory structures impede participation, and this should be addressed.
From a policy perspective, we have a unique alignment of the interests of the EV and utility industries. Could we use this alignment to establish some national V2G goals and policies?
The aim is to allow bi-directional vehicles to operate across use cases as appropriate: Emergency back-up, home resource optimization, individual response to external market signals, aggregation and market participation should all be available options for any EV.
Both the utility and automotive spaces are heavily regulated. Policy and regulations are therefore relevant to technical, commercial, and standards development. Future forums, and developing strategies that emerge from those forums, should reflect this by integrating policy elements into these other areas of work.
Policy initiatives need to determine whether they are making V2G/EV policy or DER policy. Should the goal be to insert EVs and V2G into distributed resources policy discussions, or to have dedicated V2G (and VGI more broadly) workstreams and categories?
Current policy progress is ad hoc and fragmented as opportunities arise in various states: a national, coordinated effort toward some version of a complete V2G policy suite is necessary to make coherent and consistent progress. A coordinated effort can run through this forum and should first answer the question: What does a complete and functional V2G structure need to include?
That said, a single national policy campaign is ideal but not realistic: Consider policy and stakeholder education playbooks based on regional profiles. Develop consistent messaging for presentation to national organizations that comprise representatives from state agencies: NARUC, NASEO, EEIC, Consumer advocate organizations, etc.
Pilot projects and programs should be designed to move toward commercialization and market formation. Consider pilots that can include and inform multiple utilities without replication in their own territories.
Automotive and Utility industry interests are related but not aligned: there is no agreement on whose “customer” an EV owner is. Both have a role to play in customer education on both EVs and V2G, alignment is essential to create a coherent message for EV owners. Policy and regulatory development must address the mismatch between automotive OEM Go-To-Market plans and technical/regulatory reality.
Standards are both an enabler and a barrier for V2G. Improved coordination between policy makers and standards development entities is essential to prevent each impeding progress for the other.
V2G has a “Missing Money” problem similar to that initially faced by solar. As value streams are established, consider policies that fill the gap.
Distribution grid buildout, interconnection, and retail rates do not yet enable or contemplate best uses of a bi-directional vehicle, particularly in combination with other distributed resources such as solar PV.
Key Technical Takeaways
1) Trouble Shooting Learnings. Recent V2G pilots in the U.S. have led to numerous trouble shooting learnings via early EV and charger faults. The bidirectional charger supply chain is now maturing, however testing has revealed that usable battery capacity is ~25% lower than nominal capacity.
Developing operational strategies to maintain consistent 2h or 4h dispatch are constrained by several factors, such as:
• Available capacity is variable depending on discharge rate and other factors
• Vehicles curtail discharges along an state-of-charge (SOC) curve
2) Need for a Common Interface. This common interface would a) utilize EVs and associated data for long-term resource planning, load balancing, & greater renewables for utilities; b) for the EV Driver, it would define potential financial rewards and guarantee no impact to daily mobility needs; and c) for the Automakers, it would enroll EV drivers and optimize charging.
3) Interconnection and Capacity. We must standardize and streamline interconnection application procedures, update utility regulations and rules to include V2G as energy storage DER, and plan for widespread V2G during planning for EV charging growth. There is a need to increase EV V2G/EVPE safety and grid interconnection performance with the help of industry, electric utilities, PUCs, building code authorities, and other interested parties
4) Standards development and harmonization.  In our standards and certifications, we need to move toward and embrace open standards. The objective is to achieve and expand scaling, standardization and interoperable capabilities. There is a need for neutral, open venues or opportunities for standards organizations to collaborate together on V2G – perhaps the V2G Forum is such a venue.
Additional Key Next Steps:
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Expand the number of proven use cases and pilots
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Need to define what is missing to make end-to-end certification a reality
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Improve education around V2X in the U.S.
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Price transparency will improve participation in Smart Charging initiatives – need to implement
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Roll out a Smart Charging infrastructure with optimum capacity
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Offer regional grid operators the opportunity to make flexibility agreements
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It is currently unclear who determines the use of the battery of the EV – need to clarify
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Hardware requirements for V2G need to be spelled out clearly
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Cyber security is emerging as a key consideration in the V1G and V2G ecosystem
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Electric cars must be fully tested before they plug into the grid
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Embed data required for Smart Charging and V2G
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Develop and apply appropriate U.S. national codes, standards and certifications for new EVPE products
The next edition of the V2G Forum will be April 30 - May 2, 2024 in California.  If interested in participating, you can join the V2G Forum (membership is free), and/or contact us about getting involved.Â
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