Volkswagen announces V2G for private customers for late 2026

Volkswagen is announcing an integrated Vehicle-to-Grid offering that allows private customers in Germany to use their electric cars for grid-supportive charging from the fourth quarter of 2026. The partner in this project is Elli, Volkswagen's energy brand. All VW ID. electric cars are suitable for this from model year 2023. VW Sales Board Member Martin Sander promises “significantly lower charging costs at home and, in the long term, almost free charging.”

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Better use of renewable energy

Excess energy, especially from renewable sources, can be stored in vehicles thanks to V2G and fed back into the power grid when needed. Elli quotes studies according to which around 22 billion euros in system costs could ideally be saved annually in Europe by 2040. In Germany, around 9500 GWh of renewable energy cannot currently be used due to a lack of storage and transmission lines. That would be enough to power around three million electric vehicles for a year.

Ideally, Vehicle-to-Grid should enable individuals to save up to 700 to 900 euros annually through savings and income, writes Elli. Initially, all participants in V2G will receive a basic remuneration for making their cars available for energy trading, regardless of trading success. This is based on the permitted depth of discharge and other parameters released by the customers.

Cost advantage of 700 to 900 euros possible

The integrated energy system from Elli connects the bidirectionally operating wallbox for power grid connection with a digital app control, access to energy markets, and energy trading via the “EPEX Spot” exchange with a corresponding electricity tariff. With the ID. 6 software, VW's V2G offering is to be extended to further battery sizes. Volkswagen emphasizes that V2G in this system should “not significantly affect” battery life thanks to robust high-voltage batteries and protection systems.

In the V2G ecosystem of VW/ Elli, wMSB as a nationwide metering point operator will take over the installation of the necessary smart meter and the provision of high-resolution measurement data. The smart meters are to be made available within eight to ten weeks.

(fpi)