V2G

Though lead-acid, lithium-ion, nickel electrode and flow batteries represent common types of Electrochemical Energy Storage (EES), they are only a subset of the dynamic and growing world of EES technology. For larger scale energy storage applications, stationary EES devices are very common. However, Vehicle to Grid (V2G) is a proposed scheme to leverage the energy storage potential in vehicle batteries to provide grid support. Hybrid vehicles and plug in hybrid vehicles (such as the Toyota Prius and Toyota Prius-plugin) as well as fully electric vehicles (such as the Nissan LEAF) use EES to store electricity which powers the vehicle’s drive motor. Lithium-ion batteries and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are very common in these types of vehicles (Zpryme, 2010). In a V2G application, electric vehicles would be plugged into the grid not only to be charged, but the flow of electricity could be reversed providing power back to the grid. It is expected that near term applications of V2G would be for emergency black start and power quality applications such as frequency or voltage support. In the long term, if the number of vehicles plugged into the grid increases significantly, V2G could be used for energy applications such as renewable capacity firming. V2G would be ideal if vehicles can be charged during off peak hours (night and early morning) and are made available to support the grid during peak hours (day time and early evening). The success of V2G as a profitable energy storage and grid support technology depends on the increased use of electric and plug in hybrid vehicles as well as the deployment of smart grid technology to control the transfer of electricity between the grid and vehicles connected to the grid (Zpryme, 2010).

Works Cited

Zpryme. (2010). Smart Grid Insights: V2G. Austin, Texas: Zpryme Research & Consulting, LLC.