Electric Vehicles with Bidirectional Charging Capabilities Vehicle to Grid

By Isabella Storyclaire

last updated September 17, 2024

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Electric vehicles with bidirectional charging can receive power from the grid to charge their batteries, as well as discharge power from the battery to an external load. Bidirectional charging opens up many exciting possibilities for EV owners, such as storing excess solar energy in your vehicle's battery and then using that stored energy to power your home.

Manufacturers are well aware of this technology's advantages and the importance of including bidirectional charging capabilities with their EVs, but only a handful offer vehicles with this feature.

Let's explore some EVs with bidirectional charging capabilities!

1. Ford F-150 Lightning

The Ford F-150 Lightning is an extremely capable electric vehicle, and it offers a lot of features that its internal combustion counterparts cannot compete with. One of the coolest features available on the F-150 Lightning is the bidirectional charging capability, which allows the F-150 to discharge power from its battery to power an external source. You can even use an F-150 Lightning to power your house if the truck is configured correctly and your home has been properly set up to receive backup power from the F-150 Lightning's battery pack.

In order to use the Lightning as a backup power source, you'll need to select the option called Intelligent Backup Power, which will be used in conjunction with Ford's Charge Station Pro, and your home must also be professionally prepared to interface with your F-150 Lightning. Once everything has been properly installed by a professional electrician, you can use the F-150 Lightning as your main power source for your home during a blackout.

This is a feature that will probably convince many potential owners to purchase an F-150 Lightning, especially if you live in an area with an unreliable electrical grid. The Lightning also includes an assortment of electrical outlets (in the front trunk and in the bed) to power a variety of your equipment; it even has an optional 240V outlet.

2. Hyundai Ioniq 5

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 includes bidirectional charging, which allows you to power external devices using its battery. Hyundai calls this functionality in the Ioniq 5 vehicle-to-load (V2L), and it's a feature that adds to an already practical EV that's among the best electric SUVs.

Hyundai allows you to power your devices using an integrated outlet located in the bottom of the rear seats or through the V2L adapter, which connects straight to the vehicle's charging port and allows you to connect external loads to the battery.

The great thing is that Hyundai allows you to use up to 80% of the battery's capacity to power whatever you want, and the amount of power that's being supplied from the battery shows up on the car's display.

3. Kia EV6

The EV6 is equipped with the same V2L functionality as the Ioniq 5, which isn't surprising because both of these vehicles belong to the Hyundai Motor Group and are built on the same platform. The EV6 offers up to 3.6 kW of power, and just like in the Ioniq 5, you can set a discharge limit for the battery.

There's also an outlet located at the bottom of the rear seats, which is very practical if you need to charge your laptop while inside the vehicle. Once again, this is very similar to the Ioniq 5 setup.

4. Nissan Leaf (Model Years 2013 and Up)

The Nissan Leaf has been equipped with bidirectional functionality for quite some time now. Nissan Leaf vehicles from model years 2013 and up are compatible with the Fermata Energy FE-15 bidirectional EV charger, which allows the Nissan Leaf to be used in a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capacity.

V2G allows the vehicle to communicate with the electrical grid through the bidirectional charger and feed energy back to the grid from the vehicle's battery. This is especially convenient for businesses with large fleets of vehicles. It's possible to charge your EV fleet during off-peak (cheaper) hours and then sell the energy from your fleet back to the utility company whenever demand is high during peak hours, netting a profit in the process.

5. 2023 Kia Niro EV

The 2023 Kia Niro EV is another vehicle in the Kia family that includes bidirectional charging capabilities. Thanks to its built-in Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU), the Niro can use up to 3 kW from its battery to power external devices. You can use an adapter to connect an extension cable to the vehicle's charging port, or you can simply use the built-in power outlet located between the rear seats.

These are some of the features that make the Niro EV one of the best electric compact crossovers.

6. Genesis GV60

The Genesis GV60 is another Hyundai group product with bidirectional charging functionality. Genesis calls this feature vehicle-to-load (V2L), and it allows the GV60 to use its battery to power your devices.

You can use the onboard outlet (located between the rear seats) or connect to the battery using an adapter that connects directly to the charge port.

7. Hyundai Ioniq 6

Hyundai has done a great job implementing bidirectional charging capabilities throughout its EV lineup, and the Ioniq 6 is yet another model to have it. If you need to charge your portable electronics, the Ioniq 6 is equipped with a power outlet between the rear seats, and you can also power your devices through the vehicle's exterior charge port using a special adapter.

The Ioniq 6 is definitely a vehicle worth considering if you're planning an EV road trip due to its many useful features, including the ability to power exterior devices while on the road.

8. MG ZS EV

The MG ZS is an electric SUV that offers up to 273 miles of range along with the ability to power your electrical appliances with vehicle-to-load functionality. Using V2L on your MG ZS is very easy; all you need is an adapter that plugs into your EV's charging port, which you can use to connect your appliances. It even allows you to charge another electric vehicle, as demonstrated in the video above.

You can control basic V2L functions such as setting discharge limits for the battery from the car's infotainment screen.

9. MG MG4

The MG4 EV is equipped with vehicle-to-load functionality, which means you can power your electronic devices using the vehicle's optional 64 kWh battery. The MG's long-range battery delivers up to 281 miles of range, so you can drive wherever you want and also cook something up when you get there using the V2L functionality.

The MG4 EV is also one of the most attractive EVs you can purchase; too bad it isn't for sale in the US.

10. Volkswagen ID Buzz

Volkswagen's electric vehicle lineup includes some awesome models, but the star of the show is undoubtedly the ID Buzz. It's the electrified reincarnation of the original VW van and it's a showstopper. The ID Buzz also features bidirectional charging, specifically vehicle-to-home capability.

The VW ID Buzz's 77 kWh battery can be used to power your home via a special wall-mounted charger with bidirectional properties, meaning it can receive power from the grid as well as discharge it back to run your home's appliances.

Other members of the VW lineup, like the ID.4 and ID.5, should be getting this functionality as well via an over-the-air update.

Your Next EV Should Include Bidirectional Charging Capabilities

Bidirectional charging is massively useful, and it's definitely something that EV buyers should be aware of when shopping for their next electric vehicle. Functionality like this is especially useful if you're planning on purchasing an electric pickup truck.

Electric Vehicles Play a Surprising Role in Supporting Grid Resiliency

NREL Research Highlights Vehicle-to-Grid Charging Benefits for Drivers and Utilities

Vehicle-to-grid charging programs may help support the electric grid in the transition to sustainable transportation. Parked vehicles can supply power back to homes and communities during periods of peak energy demand. *Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL*

Widespread electrification initiatives are increasing the demands on Americas aging power grid, but utilities and consumers may have an unlikely ally in electric vehicles (EVs).

Research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Leiden Universitys Institute of Environmental Sciences in the Netherlands evaluates how vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bidirectional charging programs may offer short-term grid storage opportunities, as detailed in a Nature Communications journal article.

Across the country, Americans are facing rolling blackouts and power failures caused by severe weather events. One contributing factor in these stressful scenarios is that U.S. electricity consumption tends to follow predictable demand cycles that do not always coincide with energy supply. For example, solar panels generate electricity from sunlight, but energy demandparticularly during winter's shorter days and colder nightstends to rise in the evenings after the sky goes dark. In response, utility companies have introduced time-of-use rate structures that charge consumers more during peak demands.

NREL researchers are exploring how energy systems of the future might offer relief. For example, energy stored in fully charged EV batteries could offer a distributed network of backup power, using V2G programs to supplement power to homes and communities during periods of peak demand. Once energy demand levels off, EVs would fully recharge in anticipation of a new day.

Picture EVs as mobile battery storage systems. EVs can absorb excess power when available and store that energy for future needs, said NRELs Paul Gasper, a battery degradation scientist. There is potential to store renewable energy within the global EV fleet to improve the flexibility and resilience of our power grid.

NREL Evaluates V2G Impacts and Opportunities for EV Owners

As part of this study, Gaspers team used NRELs advanced modeling and analysis capabilities, including the Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim), to explore how future EV deployment, battery degradation, and owner participation would impact the global EV battery capacity available for grid storage. This research helped determine how EV owners driving and charging habits impact the available energy storage capacity. Although market participation and consumer buy-in pose significant barriers to successful V2G implementation, further NREL research shows how V2G systems could benefit EV owners.

Using state-of-the-art battery degradation models,NREL experts evaluated how V2G programs would affect the health and lifetime of EV batteries. This approach combined real-world testing and temperature models to predict how battery health changed over time for different climates and driving behaviors worldwide. Findings indicate that EV owners may extend their EV batteries' life by participating in grid services.

When parked EVs sit fully charged for an extended period of time, the batteries degrade more quickly than if they were at a lower state of charge," Gasper said. "Participating in V2G programs lowers the average state of charge while the vehicle is parked, which can help batteries stay healthy and last longer.

Infrastructure Updates Needed To Take Full Advantage of V2G Opportunities

Researchers are optimistic; however, our existing grid infrastructure will need significant updates to make this vision a reality. NREL researchers recently released the 2030 National Charging Network report, a quantitative needs assessment for a national charging network capable of supporting the U.S. transition to EVs. With a mid-adoption scenario of 33 million light-duty EVs on the road by 2030, this study projects that the nation will need 28 million charging ports.

V2G charging services will increase demand across the charging infrastructure and prompt changes to our behavioral patterns, potentially increasing midday use of charging ports to capture excess energy generated from solar panels, said Andrew Meintz, EV grid integration researcher at NREL. Our analysis must continue to adapt to the evolving opportunities and impacts of future EV charging needs.

In the meantime, Gasper and his team are excited to continue pairing battery degradation models with social and economic analysis to help make EV ownership more attainable for everyone.

Learn more about NRELs energy storage and sustainable transportationresearch. And sign up for NRELs quarterly transportation and mobility research newsletter, Sustainable Mobility Matters, to stay current on the latest news.

Electric vehicles with bidirectional charging can receive power from the grid to charge their batteries as well as discharge power from the battery to an external load. Bidirectional charging opens up many exciting possibilities for EV owners, such as storing excess solar energy in your vehicle's battery and then using that stored energy to power your home.