How electric vehicles could transform the power grid

Source: Emily Chung · CBC NEWS · | July 14, 2021

Bidirectional charging lets EVs store and release energy — and could be key to greening our grid

Source: Rebecca Costello, an engineer at Nova Scotia Power, plugs an electric car into a bidirectional charger at the Nova Scotia Community College campus in Middleton, N.S. It's part of a pilot project testing the integration of electric vehicles into the grid. (Nova Scotia Power)

More electric vehicles are becoming capable of not only storing energy for driving, but also for powering buildings and the wider grid, thanks to a capability called "bidirectional charging."

It's an emerging technology that could keep fridges, lights and the internet on in homes and other buildings during emergencies, eliminating or reducing the impact of most power outages.

Bidirectional charging also has the potential to make the entire power grid greener and more efficient, enabling increased and better use of wind and solar power. Here's a closer look at the technology.

What is bidirectional charging?

Up until now, most electric vehicles have been designed around a one-way charge, taking energy from the grid to charge their batteries and releasing it only to power the vehicle.

With bidirectional charging, vehicles are also able to discharge power from their batteries, feeding it back into buildings and the grid when plugged in.