After years of wait, debate and bureaucratic red tape, Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging in Australia might have just got the kick along it really needed.
Electricity generator AGL has announced the launch of a residential V2G trial involving four major electric vehicle brands, all major national electricity market service providers and EV supply equipment providers.
AGL said it was “putting the wheels in motion for customers to unlock the potential of their electric vehicles and move from using energy to managing energy”.
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While this is not the first V2G trial in Australia, AGL says it plans to follow it up with a network-wide V2G offering later in 2026.
The AGL trial kicks off January 1 and will involve select EV models from Hyundai, Kia, BYD and Zeekr. In an Australian first, AGL is working with the four manufacturers to guarantee trial participants their vehicle’s battery warranty will not be impacted by participating in AGL’s trial.
With around 300,000 electric vehicles already on the road, AGL’s V2G trial aims to unlock the full potential of customers’ car batteries as a flexible energy storage asset that can help reduce home energy costs and support the energy grid as more renewable energy comes on-line.
AGL Head of Innovation and Strategy Renae Gasmier said: “To unlock the full potential of their electric vehicles, owners need to think about them as more than cars, but rather as home batteries on wheels.
“The typical electric car battery can store enough energy to power the average home for around three days.”
AGL says its V2G technology will enable EVs to become a two-way energy source, charging customers’ EV battery when electricity prices are low and renewables are plentiful and using that energy to power their homes or export surplus power back to the grid to earn extra credits to help lower home energy usage costs.
The process is handled by AGL’s smart software,
“The learnings from this trial will allow us to use feedback from participants to roll out a V2G proposition for AGL’s customers with EVs in 2026,” Gasmier explained.
“Unlocking the potential of car batteries is a game-changer for owners, by allowing them to reduce their energy usage costs, and for the broader community by contributing to grid stability during periods of peak energy demand.”
AGL’s V2G trial will be eligible to participants in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia.
It will include discounted bi-directional EV charger, including installation, for the first 50 eligible trial participants. So that equates to about a $2000 cost.
The trial will be open to a further 50 participants who will have to pay full freight for their charging systems. Now you’re up for about $10,000.
If this trial is something you reckon you’d be interested in participating in then click here.
Opportunities for bill savings come from participants being able to charge their EV battery when their energy plan prices are lower and power their home using their EV battery when their energy plan prices are higher
They can earn peak export credits when energy is fed back to the grid within specified periods of peak demand.
AGL is also working towards expanding this trial so that customers can also tell AGL’s V2G platform when they want their car charged and ready to drive.
“Electric vehicles can store five times more energy than a typical home battery, a huge untapped resource sitting in our driveways,” said Julie Delvecchio, Chief Executive Officer of the Electric Vehicle Council.
“With around 350,000 EVs already on Australian roads the potential is extraordinary and trials like this will help turn this opportunity into reality.”
