en.Wedoany.com Reported - Elli, the energy subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, in collaboration with Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and the CUPRA brand, has launched an integrated bidirectional charging package for the German market at the Power2Drive exhibition in Munich. This solution combines compatible electric vehicles, the Elli BiDi charger, the Volkswagen Naturstrom V2G Flow electricity tariff, and the Elli BiDi app into one package, allowing customers to participate in energy market trading with their own electric vehicles for the first time.
Electric vehicles are becoming energy storage systems and are a key driver of Europe's energy transition. Currently, around one million vehicles based on the Volkswagen Group's MEB platform in Europe are already equipped with bidirectional charging technology, providing a foundation for gradual market rollout. Thomas Schmall, Member of the Board of Management for Technology at Volkswagen Group, stated that future electric vehicles will become part of a digital energy and mobility system, capable of storing electricity, charging in a controlled manner, and feeding energy back, thereby creating economic value while parked. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology enables customers to leverage this advantage.
Wolfsburg/Munich. At Power2Drive, Elli demonstrated how bidirectional charging can be transformed into a scalable, customer-centric solution integrated into the energy industry. The package is initially available to German customers and includes the Elli BiDi charger, the Volkswagen Naturstrom V2G Flow electricity tariff, and the Elli BiDi app. Vehicle-to-grid technology allows users to provide battery capacity within set parameters by feeding energy from the vehicle battery back into the grid, thereby earning financial rewards. According to current plans, the plug-in reward for the first contract year can be up to €720. Silke Bagschik, Head of After-Sales and Customer Interaction at Volkswagen AG, stated that the goal is to transform complex technology into an easy-to-use form. Customers do not need to piece together components themselves but receive an integrated solution including the vehicle, charger, electricity tariff, and app. Elli also connects customers with smart meter partners.
At launch, the solution is aimed at Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and CUPRA customers in Germany, with plans to expand to markets such as France and the UK in the future. It is designed to be compatible with vehicles equipped with ID. software 3.5 and a battery capacity of 77 kWh or more, as well as all ID. models with ID. software 6. Giovanni Palazzo, CEO of Elli, noted that through vehicle-to-grid technology, electric vehicle batteries are being integrated as active components of the energy system for the first time. Elli aggregates available battery capacity, connects it to the energy market, and transforms it into controllable flexibility in the form of a virtual power plant.
Elli, as the group's energy manager, is responsible for operational implementation, partially utilizing The Mobility House Energy's FlexEngine platform technology to aggregate battery capacity and provide bidirectional chargers. From an economic perspective, the potential total storage capacity of Volkswagen Group MEB vehicles already prepared for bidirectional charging could reach tens of gigawatt-hours. A study commissioned by Transport & Environment and conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (Fraunhofer ISI) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) shows that by 2040, bidirectional charging could save the European power system up to €22 billion annually in system costs, with cumulative savings of approximately €175 billion between 2030 and 2040. In Germany alone, around 9,374 GWh of renewable energy was curtailed in 2024, an amount sufficient to power approximately 3 million all-electric vehicles for one year. (Paper title: "Potential of a full EV-power-system integration in Europe & how to realise it")
Starting from the opening of the Power2Drive exhibition, interested customers can register their interest on the Elli website. Orders are planned to begin by the end of the year, and registered customers will be notified at that time.
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