Volvo cars and Göteborg Energi elnät use V2G technology in Flexibility market

Note: Original story in Swedish (Link to the story)

For the first time, electric car batteries have delivered power directly to the local power grid in Gothenburg. This is a breakthrough for the so-called Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology. On two occasions in March 2025, four electric cars from Volvo Cars equipped with bidirectional charging delivered power equivalent to 111 kWh to Göteborg Energi Elnät’s local flexibility market, Effekthandel Väst on NODES Platform.

For the first time, electric car batteries have delivered power directly to the local power grid in Gothenburg.

The future potential of the technology is great, as more and more vehicles will be equipped with bidirectional charging.

In the fall of 2023, Göteborg Energi and Volvo Cars began a pilot project with specially equipped cars. The purpose was to test how an ordinary homeowner can contribute power from their electric car battery to the power grid. Now, the technology has been successfully used in a critical situation, which also concludes the joint pilot.

“This is an important step where we are at the forefront globally in showing that the technology works all the way. Now the opportunity for more economical electric car ownership is opened. Power can be sold locally to counteract capacity shortages in the electricity grid and also combined with participation in the national support and balancing service market”, says Therese Caesar, head of Effekthandel Väst.

Volvo Cars project manager Andreas Ropel was one of those who connected his pilot car in the form of a modified Volvo EX40s battery to the local electricity grid from his own driveway.

“The contributions have been outstanding from many teams, and we are now starting to reach our goal. Our first initial tests are still in an early stage, but they already show the potential for how our products can contribute to the large energy system. This is clearly an important effort”, Andreas Ropel says.