V2G — vehicle-to-grid — is the simple, obvious idea that your electric car is already a 60-100 kWh battery on wheels that spends 95% of its life parked. If you can pull power back out of it during the evening peak (or back into your house during a blackout), you have, effectively, a battery 5–10× the size of a Powerwall that you didn't pay extra for.
This isn't new technology. Nissan has been doing it in Japan since 2012. The reason Australians haven't been able to use V2G isn't physics — it's that until late 2024, our grid code (AS/NZS 4777.2) didn't explicitly accommodate bidirectional inverters. That changed. The Standards Australia rewrite, finalised through 2024 and adopted by state DNSPs from late 2024 onward, removed the regulatory wall. South Australia became the first state to formally approve residential V2G installs in early 2025; other states are following.
If you're buying solar or a battery this year and you own or plan to buy an EV — talk to your consultant about V2G readiness.
The wrong inverter today means a $4–8k retrofit in three years. Start a free consult and we'll tell you which systems are V2G-ready out of the box.
V2G vs V2H vs V2L — what's the difference?
Three acronyms are doing the rounds in EV marketing, and salespeople blur them. The honest distinctions:
- V2L (vehicle-to-load): Your car has a household power outlet — you can plug a kettle or a power tool into it. Most CCS2 cars sold in Australia in 2025-26 (Hyundai IONIQ 5/6, Kia EV6/9, BYD models, MG4) include this. Cute, useful for camping, irrelevant to your home.
- V2H (vehicle-to-home): A bidirectional charger pulls power from the car into your house wiring during an outage. Whole-home backup off the EV. Doesn't touch the grid.
- V2G (vehicle-to-grid): Same as V2H, but the car can also export back to the grid (and earn) during peak periods — like a VPP, but with a much bigger battery.
For most Australian households, V2H is the immediate use case — the EV functions as a giant blackout battery. V2G is the longer-term play that unlocks meaningful annual income once your retailer offers a V2G tariff. The good news: a V2H-capable charger is almost always V2G-capable too, once your retailer's V2G plan lands.
Which EVs support V2G in Australia today?
This list is moving fast — every major manufacturer is adding bidirectional support to new firmware as state DNSPs approve it. As of mid-2026:
The Nissan Leaf has the longest V2G track record because CHAdeMO supported bidirectional charging from day one. CCS2 (the standard plug on every other modern EV in Australia) only got formal bidirectional spec in late 2023. Cars built before that need a firmware update to enable V2G; some manufacturers are pushing it OTA, others want a dealer service.
The headline car for V2G in Australia in 2026 is the Kia EV9 — bidirectional out of the box, 99.8 kWh battery, certified with Wallbox Quasar 2 and other CCS2 bidirectional chargers. For most new-car buyers serious about V2G, it's the cleanest path.
The chargers that actually work
Three bidirectional chargers are realistically installable in Australian homes in 2026:
- Wallbox Quasar 1 (CHAdeMO) — 7 kW, the original. Pairs with Nissan Leafs and older CHAdeMO PHEVs. Dozens already installed across Australia. The mature, low-risk option for Leaf owners.
- Wallbox Quasar 2 (CCS2) — 11.5 kW DC bidirectional, designed for home use, includes blackout mode for automatic V2H. The "new standard" for CCS2 cars. Indicative installed cost: $4,500–$6,000.
- Sigenergy SigenStor with the EV-charger module — a different approach. Integrates the bidirectional charger directly into the home battery system (25 kW DC). Pricier but elegant if you're buying solar + battery + V2G as one project. We cover SigenStor in more detail in our SigenStor product page.
Generic AC bidirectional chargers from no-name brands are starting to appear on import sites. Don't. The Clean Energy Council's bidirectional product list is the only one your DNSP will accept. As of mid-2026 it's still a short list.
V2G isn't theoretical anymore. The hardware is shipping, the rules are written. The remaining question is whether your retailer has a tariff worth joining.
What can V2G actually earn?
Honest answer: $800–$2,000/year is the realistic range for a household discharging 8–12 kWh during peak periods on idle days, based on early Australian pilots and overseas V2G tariff data. The variables:
- Your retailer's V2G tariff (most are still 2025/26 trial tariffs — broader rollout expected late 2026 / early 2027)
- Your state's wholesale price volatility (SA / VIC / QLD pay more than WA / TAS)
- How often your car is actually parked during peak periods (4–8pm weekdays is the gold zone)
- Your willingness to set a minimum SOC the system won't discharge below (most owners set this around 30–40%)
For owners stacking V2G on top of solar + a dedicated home battery, the figures get more interesting — the EV becomes the surge battery for short, intense events, while the home battery handles everyday self-consumption. The combined annual saving plus VPP/V2G income on a household with a 13.5 kWh battery + Kia EV9 + Quasar 2 sits around $3,500–$5,500/year in the modelling we've seen from AEMO and ARENA pilots.
What it costs your battery
The most common pushback on V2G: "Isn't this just frying my car battery?" The honest evidence so far is reassuring. Modern EV batteries are LFP or NCM with cycle ratings well above 1,500 full cycles to 80% capacity; cycling 10–15 kWh once a day for a year is roughly 50–60 effective full cycles. At that pace, V2G wear is dwarfed by normal driving wear.
The manufacturers also know this. Nissan and Kia both honour their EV battery warranty when the car is used for V2G through an approved bidirectional charger. That language has been in their warranty documents since 2024. The aftermarket workaround/non-approved-charger crowd is where the warranty risk lives.
If you're buying a new system this year
The single biggest decision V2G forces on you is inverter choice. A standard hybrid inverter today will likely not be V2G-capable in three years without replacement. There are roughly three paths:
- Buy an integrated system today — Sigenergy SigenStor with the EV charger module, or a Tesla Powerwall 3 + bidirectional Wallbox combo. Highest upfront cost, lowest future regret.
- Buy V2G-ready inverter hardware now, add the bidirectional charger later — the cheaper option if you don't have an EV yet. Spec the inverter for V2G-compatibility (most modern hybrid inverters from 2025 onward are upgrade-path compatible).
- Buy standard hardware today, accept a retrofit in 2–4 years — viable if budget is tight and you don't expect to buy an EV soon.
The wrong move is the middle one done badly — a hybrid inverter from 2022 with no V2G upgrade path. That's a few thousand dollars of stranded equipment when V2G goes mainstream.