This is the first in a series of articles exploring the full value of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. While grid services have received much of the spotlight, this series begins by zooming out to highlight the often-overlooked benefits of V2G for EV owners—lower costs and greater resilience. In our next installment, we’ll take a deeper dive into the grid value of V2G and what it means for utility programs and policy design.
Introduction
As interest in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology grows, so too does the need for clarity around its value. While early attention focused on technical feasibility, the conversation is now shifting to where and how bidirectional EV charging creates real economic and operational value. V2G delivers benefits across three primary domains:
- Lowering the total cost of EV ownership (TCO), particularly for fleets
- Enhancing resiliency through backup power
- Providing services to the electric grid, including capacity and flexibility
Each of these value streams matters, but grid services have dominated policy and market attention. This is understandable—regulators typically require that utility investments be justified by grid-facing value. In practice, that grid value often sets the ceiling on what utilities can spend. However, this narrow lens risks undervaluing the more immediate benefits of V2G—especially cost savings and resilience—that are already compelling early adopters. Without a broader framework, these other sources of value may be left on the table.
Lowering Total Cost of Ownership
For commercial fleets, reducing energy and maintenance expenses is central to the electrification business case. Smart charging strategies help avoid demand charges and shift energy use to low-cost hours, while EVs generally incur lower maintenance costs than internal combustion engine vehicles.
Bidirectional charging with V2G technology takes this a step further. By allowing vehicles to serve building loads or export energy to the grid, V2G unlocks new value streams like solar self-consumption, peak shaving, and energy arbitrage. Pilots with school buses—thanks to their long dwell times—show how smart controls and bidirectional charging can significantly reduce total cost of ownership while generating new revenue from providing grid services.[i]
Residential EV owners are also beginning to benefit. In Europe, several pilots have offered free or discounted charging in exchange for allowing EVs to provide grid services during peak demand—demonstrating that even household-level V2G can deliver real economic value and improve grid flexibility.
That said, these cost savings depend on the ability to access and monetize the grid value V2G provides. Without clear compensation mechanisms—whether through utility programs, dynamic rates, or market participation—much of this potential value remains out of reach.
Reducing TCO makes EV adoption more accessible, accelerating transportation electrification. States with ambitious decarbonization goals will meet them faster and more affordably if policies support the full range of V2G benefits.
Resiliency: Backup Power in Action
V2G also enhances resiliency, allowing EVs to serve as mobile or stationary backup power sources. Vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-building (V2B) configurations can keep essential loads powered during outages—offering a cleaner and often more reliable alternative to fossil-fueled generators. That’s why Ford Motor Company’s first V2G product, developed with Sunrun, was a V2H solution bundled with its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck.[ii]
For fleets, the potential for EVs to serve as mobile power sources adds operational flexibility and resilience. School buses are a particularly promising use case. There is also growing interest in using electric school buses as emergency response resources to provide emergency power to community shelters, fire stations, and other critical facilities during extreme weather events and grid outages.[iii]
Grid Services: A Major Focus—But Not the Whole Story
V2G offers additional value beyond managed charging by transforming EVs into fully flexible grid assets. While V1G can shift when vehicles charge to avoid peaks or align with low-cost hours, V2G adds the ability to discharge energy back to the grid or a building when it’s most needed. This bidirectional capability significantly expands the flexibility potential of EVs—enabling them to provide capacity, frequency regulation, voltage support, and other grid services. By leveraging both charging and discharging, V2G can help utilities balance supply and demand more effectively, integrate higher levels of renewable energy, and reduce reliance on costly infrastructure investments.
While this grid-facing value is real and important, it’s only part of the story. Early deployments show that the most immediate and accessible benefits of V2G often come from reducing the total cost of ownership for fleet customers and improving operational resilience at the customer level.
The goal should be to build a more complete valuation framework—one that reflects how V2G creates value across customers, the grid, and the broader community. Doing so will require closer collaboration among state energy offices, public utility commissions, transportation agencies, and key stakeholders.
Conclusion
Bidirectional charging offers more than just grid services—it lowers the cost of EV ownership, strengthens resilience, and empowers EV owners to participate in a more flexible and efficient energy system. To unlock the full potential of V2G, policymakers and regulators must move beyond narrow cost-effectiveness tests and recognize the broader value stack these technologies deliver.
By accounting for the full range of V2G benefits—including customer savings, backup power capabilities, and grid flexibility—states can design programs that accelerate EV adoption and reduce the total cost of achieving their decarbonization goals. This is not a far-off vision; it’s already happening today in schools, homes, and fleets that are demonstrating the power of EVs to serve both mobility and energy needs.
With the right policies and partnerships, V2G can become a cornerstone of the clean energy transition—delivering real value now while laying the groundwork for a more resilient, equitable, and affordable energy future.
[i] See Mobility House, October 22, 2024, Charge for Free – Renault Group, Mobilize and The Mobility House launch Vehicle-to-Grid in France, while Germany is establishing the regulatory framework, available at https://www.mobilityhouse.com/int_en/our-company/newsroom/article/charge-for-free-renault-group-mobilize-and-the-mobility-house-launch-vehicle-to-grid-in-france-while-germany-is-establishing-the-regulatory-framework and Octopus Energy June 24, 2025, Octopus and BYD make waves with all-inclusive car and V2G charging bundle, available at https://octopusev.com/resources/news/octopus-and-byd-make-waves-with-all-inclusive-car-and-v2g-charging-bundle.
[ii] See Sunrun, Introducing the revolutionary Home Integration System, co-created by Sunrun and Ford, available at https://www.sunrun.com/ev-charging/ford-f150-lightning.
[iii] See Microgrid Knowledge, July 2025, How Electric School Buses, as Mobile Microgrids, Can Respond to Energy and Weather Emergencies, available at https://www.microgridknowledge.com/electric-vehicles/article/55300580/how-electric-school-buses-as-mobile-microgrids-can-respond-to-energy-and-weather-emergencies.
