Concerns have been raised about the long-term effects of the switch to electric vehicles. An international study led by Australians will provide answers.
An Australian-led study of electric vehicle use will examine the impact of battery-powered cars on the energy grid around the world.
The global shift toward electric cars will place new demands on domestic electric infrastructure as people charge at home instead of fuelling up at service stations.
The University of Queensland will study how Tesla owners in Australia and beyond use their cars.
Dr Jake Whitehead said many owners use less than a quarter of their car’s battery capacity each day, and that his study could address “common misconceptions about how EV owners use their vehicles, and highlight how this technology provides far greater benefits, than risks, to the energy sector”.
“This provides a unique opportunity to leverage this spare energy capacity to absorb renewable energy generated in the middle of the day and overnight, and potentially even export energy to power homes and support the grid in the future using vehicle-to-grid chargers,” Dr Whitehead said.
Vehicle-to-grid tech is not active in Australia yet.
But it has the potential to change the way people power their homes, with cars serving as giant batteries to store solar energy and power homes to reduce reliance on traditional energy providers.
Ian Christensen, managing director of transport research and development centre iMOVE, said that “by leveraging EV battery spare capacity and using smart charging technology, excess solar could be absorbed by vehicles parked during the day, and potentially discharged to support the grid during the evening using vehicle-to-grid infrastructure,” he said.
“For smart charging infrastructure to deliver these benefits, EV uptake must be significantly increased, and importantly, EV owners must be willing to use their vehicles as ‘batteries-on-wheels’.”
Australian Tesla owners can register for the trial here.
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