September 29, 2026

Vehicle-grid integration advocates spend considerable time discussing technology, standards, interconnection, utility programs and compensation. All are essential. But the history of the U.S. solar industry points to another requirement for moving an emerging distributed energy technology into a commercial market: an advocacy ecosystem capable of creating, defending and continually improving the policies that allow the technology to scale.

Solar did not develop that ecosystem overnight, nor did it wait until distributed solar had become a large commercial market. Industry associations, independent advocates, technical organizations and customer groups emerged over time, supported by companies, philanthropy, government grants and public-benefit funds. VGI has begun building pieces of a similar infrastructure, but today’s advocacy ecosystem remains far less developed than the one that eventually formed around distributed solar.

September 29, 2026

Vehicle-to-grid systems are often described as if the essential transaction were straightforward: an electric vehicle connects to a bidirectional charger, receives a signal from the grid, and either charges or sends electricity back. In practice, considerably more has to happen behind the scenes.

The vehicle must communicate with the charger. The charger may communicate with an aggregator or charging-management platform. A utility may need to send operating limits or grid-support settings. And at a home, commercial building, or fleet depot, the EV may also need to operate alongside solar, stationary batteries, and other flexible loads. Each device may use different communications protocols, while the site as a whole still has to comply with grid-interconnection requirements.

A June 2026 report from the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), V2XConnect: Harmonizing the Landscape of Bidirectional Charging Codes, Standards, and Communication Protocols, examines this increasingly complicated landscape. The report reviews the standards governing bidirectional charging and distributed energy resources (DERs), analyzes the communications protocols supported by hundreds of inverter products, and proposes a site-level gateway that could coordinate multiple energy resources while responding to utility and customer needs.

PG&E and GM Energy have launched a new Smart Charge Bundle that brings home charging and utility managed charging directly into the EV purchase process. Customers buying or leasing a new Chevrolet, GMC or Cadillac EV at participating dealerships in Northern and Central California can choose a GM Energy PowerUp 2 or PowerShift home charger at no additional hardware cost, a value of up to $1,999, and enroll in PG&E’s EV Charge Manager program at the dealership. Participants receive a $15 monthly bill credit and may save up to an additional $50 per month by allowing charging to shift to lower-cost, lower-demand periods, while retaining the ability to override charging schedules when needed. WeaveGrid provides the software used to optimize charging and help PG&E manage localized grid constraints.

The PowerShift option also gives the bundle a bidirectional dimension. When paired with compatible GM vehicles and additional GM Energy equipment, the charger can support vehicle-to-home operation during outages, allowing the EV battery to supply power back to the residence. The announcement does not describe vehicle-to-grid exports under the Smart Charge Bundle, so the near-term offering is best characterized as managed charging combined with a pathway to V2H. Still, the model is notable because it integrates the automaker, utility, charging hardware, software platform and customer incentive into a single point-of-sale experience, potentially making grid-responsive charging and bidirectional-capable equipment part of the mainstream EV purchasing process.

9/23/2026

UL Solutions has launched certification testing for bidirectional EV charging equipment under the new UL 1741 Supplement SC standard, creating a formal U.S. pathway for AC vehicle-to-grid systems. Unlike DC bidirectional chargers that rely on an external inverter, the AC approach uses a certified onboard vehicle inverter paired with a compatible bidirectional wallbox, potentially reducing equipment costs and improving interoperability. With testing now available in California and Illinois, the program could help accelerate deployment of lower-cost V2G systems in the U.S.

9/14/2026

Brooklyn-based it’s electric, recently selected to deploy 700 curbside charging points across New York City, is also developing a bidirectional version of its charger through a $1.1 million California Energy Commission-funded project. The company says the V2G hardware is designed to swap into the same curbside infrastructure as its conventional chargers, creating a potential pathway for cities to add bidirectional capability over time. That could be particularly important in dense urban areas, where many EV drivers live in apartments or multifamily housing and lack access to a private driveway or garage—potentially extending V2G participation beyond the single-family-home market that dominates many early deployments.

9/24/2026

Electric school buses are increasingly participating in utility programs that use bidirectional charging to reduce peak demand and support the grid while generating revenue for school districts and fleet operators. Utility Dive highlights programs in Massachusetts and California, including a Beverly, Massachusetts, school bus that earned nearly $12,000 per season through National Grid’s ConnectedSolutions program and a 74-bus V2G fleet serving Oakland schools in PG&E territory. More than 230 V2G-enabled school buses are already operating in the U.S., with hundreds more planned, making school buses one of the most established applications for commercial-scale V2G.

9/16/2026

Australian startup Merge Energy is developing a V2G device designed to let EV owners use their existing rooftop-solar inverter rather than installing a dedicated bidirectional charger. The company’s “V2G Key” concept would allow power from an EV battery to flow through the home’s solar system, potentially reducing the cost of residential V2G deployment. The technology remains at the prototype stage, with compliance with Australian grid standards and potential battery impacts among the key issues still to be resolved.

9/19/2026

Vehicle-to-grid deployment is expanding across China as policymakers move toward large-scale use of bidirectional charging and smart EV charging. A recent Shanghai V2G exercise reached 34.6 MW of peak response capacity, with privately owned chargers accounting for most discharge sessions, while pilots in Hubei and Guangzhou are testing larger-scale grid participation and new compensation mechanisms. China’s power-system plan calls for 50 GW of aggregated flexible vehicle-grid capacity by 2030, although pricing, interoperability, equipment costs and vehicle warranties remain important barriers to broader commercialization.

9/21/2026

BYD has approved its Sealion 7 for participation in Amber Electric’s Australian vehicle-to-grid program, allowing owners to export power from their vehicles without voiding the vehicle warranty. The program, which previously demonstrated V2G with the BYD Atto 3, is expanding from 50 chargers to 1,000 homes with A$13.6 million in support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. With more than 8,000 people reportedly on the waitlist, the expansion brings V2G capability to one of BYD’s most popular Australian models and could significantly broaden residential V2G participation.

9/18/2026

Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor says vehicles equipped with vehicle-to-grid technology are set to enter mass production as part of a broader push into smart EVs and energy services. The company also plans to launch an energy-management platform connecting vehicles, charging infrastructure and the power grid, with V2G-enabled vehicles able to participate in electricity trading. The announcement adds another major Chinese automaker to the growing list of manufacturers incorporating bidirectional charging into future vehicle and energy-platform strategies.

9/16/2026

Australian energy retailer Amber Electric has raised $78.5 million in a Series E financing as it prepares to expand its energy automation platform internationally, beginning with Europe. Amber’s platform enables customers with batteries and EVs to respond to wholesale electricity prices, including selling stored energy back to the grid, and the company is rolling out V2G functionality to early customers. The funding follows A$13.6 million in Australian government support to expand Amber’s residential V2G program to 1,000 homes and builds on its partnership with UK utility E.ON Next.

9/21/2026