A new electric car prototype created at the University of Delaware runs on electricity alone - and also can, theoretically, generate revenue for its owner by storing and providing electricity for utilities. The technology, called “V2G” for vehicle-to-grid, lets electricity flow from the car’s battery to power lines and back.
“When I get home, I’ll charge up and then switch into V2G mode,” said Willett Kempton, UD associate professor of marine policy and a V2G pioneer who began developing the technology more than a decade ago and who is now testing the new prototype vehicle.
When the car is in the V2G setting, the battery’s charge goes up or down depending on the needs of the grid operator, which sometimes must store surplus power and other times requires extra power to respond to surges in usage. The ability of the V2G car’s battery to act like a sponge provides a solution for utilities, which pay millions to generating stations that help balance the grid. Kempton estimates the value for utilities could be up to $4,000 a year for the service, part of which could be paid to drivers.
Split that 50.50 with the utility, and a car owner might actually cover a sizeable portion of his car payment. That kind of financing leverage could enable rapid adoption of V2G-equipped cars.
Kempton says V2G technology will work on a large scale because at any given time about 95 percent of all cars in America are parked. “A car sitting there with a tank of gasoline in it, that’s useless,” he said. “If it’s a battery storing a lot of electricity and a big plug that allows moving power back and forth quickly, then it’s valuable.”
I’d just be worried that a lightning bolt would cause a power surge that blew up my car.
