V2G Insights

Telematics and EVSE: The Data Backbone of Bidirectional Charging

January 6, 2026

Bidirectional charging, whether it’s powering a home during an outage or feeding energy back to the grid, depends on a steady stream of trusted information to coordinate millions of mobile batteries safely and profitably. We need to know not only how much energy an EV can deliver, but also when, where, and under what conditions.

For every bidirectional charging session, the data foundation looks roughly the same: state of charge (SoC), plug status, rate of export, energy delivered, location, battery health, and driver preferences such as minimum SoC or next-trip timing. Together, these parameters tell an aggregator or utility how the vehicle can contribute without compromising mobility or safety.

That information can come from two main places, the charging equipment or the vehicle’s onboard telematics, and increasingly from both. Understanding how these data streams differ, and how they can work together, is becoming central to scaling vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and other bidirectional charging use cases.

Note: The author would like to thank Lauren Kastner, Director, Transportation Electrification at ICF Consulting, for her review and helpful comments on an earlier draft. Any remaining errors or omissions are the sole responsibility of the author.

V2G Intelligence

What The Recent UC Davis Study Reveals About the Real Economics and Limits of Bidirectional Charging

January 6, 2026

Tayarani, H., Rabinowitz, A., Jenn, A., & Tal, G. (2025). Assessment of vehicle-grid- integration profitability subject to real-world driver behavior and electricity tariff. Energy, 341, 139302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.139302.

As bidirectional charging moves from demonstrations toward early commercialization, the industry continues to grapple with a fundamental question: under real-world conditions, does vehicle-to-grid participation deliver enough value to justify the added complexity, cost, and perceived risk? A new peer-reviewed study from researchers at the University of California, Davis offers one of the most grounded answers to date by examining V2G not in theory, but as it would operate in the lives of actual drivers, under today’s electricity tariffs, and with battery degradation fully accounted for.

Published in a peer-reviewed journal at the end of 2025, the study arrives at a pivotal moment for the industry. Rather than asking whether bidirectional charging can work in principle, the authors focus on when it creates durable, repeatable value under everyday conditions, and when it does not. In doing so, the analysis helps explain both why V2G has struggled to scale uniformly to date and where it is most likely to succeed as commercialization begins.

V2G Finds—US

Toyota Launches U.S. V2G Pilot as It Makes the Case for EVs as Grid-Scale Power Resources

Toyota has launched a new vehicle-to-grid (V2G) pilot at its U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas, partnering with Oncor and Fermata Energy to test real-world bidirectional charging using Japanese-spec bZ4X electric vehicles. The project focuses on automated charging and discharging based on grid conditions and price signals, offering a controlled environment to evaluate how EVs can function as flexible grid assets without burdening drivers. Separately, but clearly related, Toyota is also advancing a broader narrative about the system-scale potential of V2G, estimating that if the roughly four million EVs currently on U.S. roads were bidirectionally enabled, they could collectively supply up to 40,000 megawatts to the grid, comparable to the output of about 40 nuclear reactors. Taken together, the pilot and the claim illustrate a growing alignment between automaker rhetoric and grid ambition.

1/1/2026

When the Grid Goes Dark, Bidirectional Power Shows Up

This InsideEVs piece is a powerful reminder that the value of bidirectional charging is already being realized, often outside formal grid programs and market structures. Through real-world stories of Ford F-150 Lightning owners using their trucks to power homes, medical equipment, and critical services during outages, the article highlights how vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-home capabilities are delivering tangible resilience benefits today. While the focus is not on market-based V2G, these experiences underscore an important truth for the industry: exportable power is no longer theoretical, and the same capabilities that keep the lights on during emergencies form the technical and experiential foundation for future vehicle-to-grid participation as policies, tariffs, and aggregation frameworks mature.

12/20/2025

V2G Finds—Global
Bidirectional EVs and the Global Curtailment Problem

Around the world, wind and solar generation are outpacing the grid’s ability to absorb them, forcing clean energy to be curtailed at growing cost. This article helps explain why bidirectional charging is increasingly seen as a global system solution rather than a local experiment. By reframing electric vehicles as mobile storage assets, parked most of the time but available when needed, it shows how V2G could turn surplus renewable energy into usable flexibility at scale. The Isle of Wight trial offers a concrete example, but the lesson travels well: wherever renewables are expanding faster than grid infrastructure, bidirectional EVs may become an essential part of how power systems balance, not an optional add-on.

12/25/2025

V2G Car-Sharing Moves From Pilot to Urban Infrastructure

Eindhoven’s launch of a bidirectional car-sharing fleet marks an important moment for V2G, showing how vehicle-to-grid can scale most naturally when mobility and grid services are designed together. By deploying shared EVs that charge during periods of abundant renewable generation and discharge during evening peaks, the city is treating cars as part of its energy system, not just its transportation system. The results from earlier pilots in Utrecht, where similar vehicles measurably reduced local grid congestion and exported tens of megawatt-hours back to the grid, help explain why this model is gaining momentum. Taken together, these projects signal a broader shift in global V2G thinking: shared fleets with predictable usage and centralized charging are emerging as one of the clearest, fastest pathways to turning bidirectional charging from demonstration into everyday urban infrastructure.

12/26/2025

Nio’s MW-Scale V2G Demonstration Shows Aggregation Is No Longer Theoretical

Nio’s vehicle-to-grid discharge demonstration in Tianjin offers one of the clearest examples yet of V2G operating at a meaningful scale. By coordinating more than 100 vehicles across multiple sites, the project delivered over 1.6 MW of sustained power to the grid in real time, moving the conversation beyond pilots and into aggregation. What makes the demonstration especially instructive is its integration with utility operations and battery swap infrastructure, highlighting how centralized platforms can mobilize EVs quickly and reliably for grid services. For a global V2G audience, the takeaway is clear: where utilities, OEMs, and digital platforms are aligned, bidirectional charging is already functioning as a dispatchable grid resource, not a future concept.

12/23/2025