Mitsubishi has been granted permission to deploy two-way electric vehicle charging infrastructure in South Australia, allowing plug-in hybrid owners to send electricity from their cars back to the grid for the first time in Australia.
This technology not only helps adopters save on electricity bills but also provides a safety net during blackouts and power outages.
While Mitsubishi Outlander And Cross eclipse The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is capable of bi-directional charging via the CHAdeMO charging port, owners will need to purchase an approved charger sold specifically for the car to use the bi-directional charging feature.
This is the first time Vehicle to Grid (V2G) two-way technology has been approved for an automotive OEM in Australia.
The stamp of approval from SA Power Networks (SAPN) comes after testing at its Adelaide headquarters, in which the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was connected to a Wallbox Quasar 1 two-way charger.
The Outlander PHEV passed testing by safely exporting electrical energy stored in its 20kWh lithium-ion drive battery into the state’s grid.
Although governments overseas have invested significant resources into two-way charging over the past two decades, the technology is still relatively new to Australia.
This process allows two-way sharing of stored energy from the drive battery of a suitable PHEV or electric vehicle (EV) to an external energy consumer, via a compatible charger.
A bidirectional charger converts AC power from the grid into the DC power required by the electric vehicle battery, but it is also capable of converting power from DC back into AC power so it can take power from the battery and distribute it. go somewhere else.
Power from the battery then enables energy sharing applications such as Vehicle to Grid (V2G) and Vehicle to Home (V2H).
Vehicle-to-grid sharing sends energy from the battery to the grid, a home or any connected building, which can reduce strain on the grid and lower overall energy prices.
In addition to users, all grid users benefit from increased grid reliability, increased renewable energy mix and cheaper energy prices.
Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited’s director of eMobility, Tim Clarke, said that Mitsubishi PHEV owners will benefit from the decision for a number of reasons.
“As Australia’s V2G landscape continues to grow and access to two-way hardware increases, Mitsubishi PHEV owners are well placed to benefit,” Mr Clarke said.
“They will be able to export their PHEVs to the grid or home, strengthening the flexibility of PHEVs, while increasing renewable energy deployment and reducing CO2 emissions across the vehicle and in the grid electricity.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously cast doubt on the potential of two-way charging.
“I don’t think many people will use two-way charging, unless you have a Powerwall,” Musk said last March.
“Because if you unplug your car, your house will go dark. And this is extremely inconvenient. Most of the value comes from charging the vehicle at the right time. It’s not really about transferring energy the other way.”
