New modelling conducted by Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) has shown that, over five years, a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charger could create more than AU$4,500 (US$2,932) in downward pressure on electricity bills.
These savings would be provided across Australia and would rely on an AU$3,000 government rebate towards a V2G charger.
The EVC said that for every dollar spent supporting V2G, AU$1.50 would return through lower wholesale prices and a reduced need for additional capital expenditure on power infrastructure.
Additionally, an EV owner who participates in V2G could earn around AU$1,000 annually for exporting power from their car to the grid when demand is high. This could provide a financial incentive to adopt EVs and V2G and strengthen the grid as Australia’s coal-fired power plants are withdrawn over the next couple of decades.
Indeed, the EVC has said that if Australia had 600,000 V2G-enabled EVs, this would be enough to match the generation output of Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant: the Eraring Power Station, located on the shores of Lake Macquarie, southwest of Newcastle, New South Wales.
The black coal power plant provides 2,880MW to the National Electricity Market (NEM) and is currently being replaced by one of the country’s largest battery energy storage systems (BESS) at over 2GWh.
Electric Vehicle Council CEO Julie Delvecchio said V2G has huge potential to make electricity cheaper for everyone and help stabilise the energy grid, similar to how the country has rapidly expanded its solar PV generation capacity.
“Just as Australia became a rapid global leader in rooftop solar, we have the opportunity now to lead the charge in vehicle-to-grid uptake,” Delvecchio said.
Offering a V2G charger rebate via the AU$2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program
The EVC has also called on the Australian government to include V2G chargers in its newly launched AU$2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program to help provide more value for money to the taxpayer.
As reported by our sister site Energy-Storage.news, the home battery rebate was first announced in early April in the build-up to the 2025 federal election, which took place on 3 May and saw Anthony Albanese’s Australian Labour Party win a second term in government.
Since then, the government has delivered on its initial pledge, officially launching the scheme on 1 July. The scheme helps cut the upfront cost of a home BESS by 30%.
“We’d like to see the federal government roll out an AU$3,000 rebate for V2G chargers so that more Australians can use this technology to generate lower power prices for themselves and others,” Delvecchio added.
“Australia is home to more than 350,000 EVs, and a high proportion live in the middle and outer suburbs. With some EVs now around AU$30,000, the upfront cost is making it more affordable for more Australians to make the switch to cheaper-to-run cars. V2G unlocks the full benefit of EV uptake in a way that helps everyone – EV owner or not.”
This proposal would see rebates available for 50,000 V2G chargers in homes nationwide by the end of 2028 at a cost of AU$150 million. In doing so, the EVC predicts it would create a national benefit of more than AU$230 million by 2033.
Australia’s V2G potential
Australia’s growing EV sector presents a significant opportunity for the country’s energy transition. States like South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria are anticipating grid reliability gaps within the next decade.
V2G technology, if implemented effectively, could play a critical role in addressing these challenges.
Chris Dunstan, energy strategy leader at CSIRO and an early advocate for V2G technology in Australia, has emphasised its potential in light of the country’s projected EV adoption.
“We are expecting around eight million EVs on Australian roads by 2035. If each could export 7kW, we’re talking 56GW of capacity. If even half of these have V2G capabilities and then half are exporting, that’s still 14GW,” Dunstan said at the Smart Energy Conference in Sydney earlier this year.
“V2G takes the EV and turns it into the Swiss Army Knife of the clean energy transition.”
Australia’s V2G advancements have also attracted interest from the UK and European markets. Energy retailer Amber Electric recently secured AU$45 million in funding to further its technology.
Amber Electric partnered with energy supplier E.ON Next to bring its automation software to the UK. Additionally, Amber signed a similar agreement with Ecotricity, an environmentally focused energy retailer, to expand its technology across mainland Europe.
Our publisher, Solar Media, will soon launch a brand-new site dedicated to global EV charging infrastructure developments. Called EV Infrastructure News, the site will track market trends, technological breakthroughs and project developments from around the globe. Please visit and follow the official LinkedIn page to learn more.
