SEOUL, May 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. are taking steps to bring about the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) commercialization era.
V2G refers to the technology of using idle battery power by connecting electric vehicles to the power grid.
The two companies signed a business agreement with Hyundai Capital Services Inc., an auto finance company, and the provincial government of Jeju Island to promote a V2G project.
Hyundai and Kia will be responsible for the development of a V2G solution to ensure the efficient operation of electric vehicle (EV) charging and discharging.
To this end, they will pursue a wider variety of additional developments on the basis of the vehicle-to-load (V2L) function that is featured on Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 and Kia’s EV6 all-electric models to supply electric power from the vehicles to an outside power supply.
Hyundai Capital will be engaged in the expansion of rental services for EVs and chargers, while the provincial government will optimize the electricity cost of its building by using its IONIQ 5 official vehicles.
On the basis of the technology that will be verified through this trial project, it should become possible to use EV batteries as a power source for buildings and homes, as well as to charge the batteries at off-peak hours and sell or trade at when electricity consumption is at its peak.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)