In addition to the 800V electrical architecture and high-voltage fast charging, V2G (Vehicle to Grid) is expected to accelerate its popularity in the field of new energy vehicle energy replenishment starting from 2024.
On January 9th, NIO Shanghai's first batch of 10 V2G destination charging stations were officially put into operation. In addition to exploring orderly charging and discharging modes in typical scenarios such as parks, office buildings, and shopping malls, NIO has also piloted orderly charging and discharging in residential communities with Shanghai Power Grid in the Fengxian area.
V2G, also known as bidirectional inverter charging technology, means that electric vehicles can not only obtain electricity from the power grid for charging, but also replenish the electrical energy from the onboard battery to the power grid. The application of V2G technology can achieve the distributed mobile energy storage unit function of electric vehicles, charging during low electricity consumption periods and discharging outward during peak electricity consumption periods. That is to say, V2G technology can make new energy vehicles distributed energy storage devices.
In the current new energy power system, wind energy, photovoltaic and other new energy power vary over time and seasons. In order to cope with the intermittency and volatility of new energy generation and ensure the stable operation of the power grid, it is essential to configure energy storage systems. Compared to expensive chemical battery energy storage and geographically limited pumped storage, the power battery of electric vehicles is a relatively ideal energy storage medium. The industry generally believes that by 2030, the number of new energy vehicles in China will exceed 100 million, and based on the electricity consumption of 65 kWh per vehicle, the energy storage potential of electric vehicles will reach 6.5 billion kWh.
Zhu Yufeng, Vice Chairman of China Electric Power Federation and President of GCL Group and Chairman of GCL Energy Technology (002015. SZ), believes that by leveraging the energy AI big model and smart energy management system to connect to virtual power plants, charging can be done during low-cost and non peak electricity consumption periods, and electricity can be sold back to the grid during peak electricity consumption periods to achieve the most inclusive economic value and electricity freedom.
On the other hand, with the continuous increase in the number of new energy vehicles, the contradiction between new energy vehicle replenishment and the power grid urgently needs to be resolved. Under V2G technology, charging can intelligently interact with the power grid, achieve peak shaving and valley filling, and alleviate the contradiction between charging demand and the power grid.
According to data from the Ministry of Public Security, as of September 30, 2023, the number of new energy vehicles in China has reached 18.21 million, of which 14.01 million are pure electric vehicles, accounting for 76.9% of the total number of new energy vehicles. With the continuous increase in the number of electric vehicles, disorderly and peak charging of electric vehicles will further exacerbate the peak valley characteristics of the power grid load, making it difficult for the power grid to withstand.
Xi Guofu, Director of the Industrial Development Department of State Grid Corporation of China, once stated that the charging of new energy vehicles has the characteristics of "high load and low electricity consumption". Most new energy vehicle owners are accustomed to charging from 19:00 to 23:00, with a coincidence rate of up to 85% with the peak period of residential electricity consumption, which exacerbates the peak of electricity load and brings significant impact to the distribution network.
In addition, starting from 2023, multiple car companies are accelerating the construction of ultra fast charging and energy replenishment facilities, which has put forward higher requirements for the power grid. According to a research report by Dongwu Securities, if the peak of overcharging coincides with the peak of electricity consumption, the instantaneous power increase brought by overcharging piles will also cause additional pressure on the fully operational distribution network. Therefore, the promotion of overcharging applications has put forward more requirements for car companies, pile companies, and the power grid end.
"Currently, there are an average of 500 households in the community, and the maximum power capacity of the community is 1000kW. Building a 500kW fast charging pile in the community requires half of the energy to be allocated to one vehicle." Yu Dexiang, Chairman of the Special Power Company, told reporters that with the development of large-scale electric vehicles, simple fast charging and disorderly charging will pose a huge threat to the power grid.
In response to this issue, several new energy industry chain enterprises have recently launched technologies and concepts such as V2G (Vehicle to Grid), virtual power plants, and integrated light storage and charging to alleviate the conflict between the increasing demand for new energy vehicle energy replenishment and the power grid.
On January 4th of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and four other departments issued the Implementation Opinions on Strengthening the Integration and Interaction between New Energy Vehicles and the Power Grid (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), proposing that by 2030, China's vehicle network interaction technology standard system will be basically completed, market mechanisms will be more perfect, vehicle network interaction will achieve large-scale application, intelligent and orderly charging will be fully promoted, and new energy vehicles will become an important component of the electrochemical energy storage system, Strive to provide the power system with a bi-directional flexible regulation capability of tens of millions of kilowatts.
The Opinion clearly points out that new energy vehicles are connected to the power supply network through charging and swapping facilities, and a two-way interactive system of information and energy flow between new energy vehicles and the power supply network can be constructed. This can effectively leverage the flexible regulation ability of power batteries as controllable loads or mobile energy storage, providing important support for the efficient and economic operation of the new power system.