Thanks to new battery technology: E-cars could be the electricity store of the future

Thanks to the new battery technology
E-cars could be a storehouse of electricity in the future

01/17/2023 at 8:29 PM

Unlike coal and gas, wind and sun are not always available. In order to transform energy, efficient storage technologies are indispensable. But a new study shows that the growing number of e-cars alone may soon be enough to stabilize the energy supply.

E-cars could make a significant contribution to the stability of power grids in the future. This came from a study published in the British journal “Nature”. Accordingly, the storage capacity of the entire e-car fleet can help offset peak consumption.

Grid stability has come to the fore in the context of the transition to renewable energies. Unlike traditional energy producers such as coal or gas power plants, the production of solar and wind energy systems is irregular. With the lack of sun and wind and the high consumption at the same time, bottlenecks can occur. Using V2G (vehicle-to-grid) technology, which is currently being developed, charging electric vehicle batteries can be timed as large amounts of electricity are available on the grid. At the same time, plugged-in e-vehicles can feed into stored electricity in bottlenecks.

Electronic cars as safe storage systems for electricity since 2030

With the increasing prevalence of e-cars, the fleets in most countries around the world could be sufficient to secure networks with their storage capacity by 2030, according to researcher Chengjian Xu of Leiden University in the Netherlands. By 2050, e-vehicle batteries alone are likely to exceed energy storage requirements estimated by the International Energy Agency.

In his calculations, Xu assumes that all e-car owners would only participate on a limited scale in such a system, because battery life would be affected by frequent charging and discharging. On the other hand, the researcher suggests that public authorities can create incentives for more people to make their cars available for network stabilization purposes.

Several electric vehicle manufacturers such as Hyundai and Renault are already testing V2G technology in their vehicles. There is a pilot project in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Some Tesla models and many home chargers are also V2G compatible.