Bidirectional EV chargers promise to play an important role not only for electric vehicle (EV) owners but for Australia’s evolving energy landscape, with the potential to do more than just keep your EV topped up.
This technology – which has the ability to soak up surplus rooftop solar energy into an EV battery during the day and then either use it to power the home’s appliances, or discharge to the grid, at night – offers a powerful way to integrate renewable energy, increase grid resilience, and significantly reduce household energy costs.
Bidirectional EV chargers are transforming how Australians use and store electricity, enabling Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) technology. These next-generation chargers do more than just power your EV,
By charging your EV with surplus rooftop solar during the day and discharging energy to power your home or support the grid, V2G and V2H play a crucial role in integrating renewable energy, increasing grid resilience, and lowering household energy costs. As Australia accelerates its transition to cleaner energy solutions, bidirectional charging is emerging as a key innovation.
But how does this technology actually work?
What is a Bidirectional EV Charger?
At its core, a bidirectional EV charger enables two-way energy flow. Unlike traditional EV chargers that only send electricity from the grid or your solar system into your vehicle, bidirectional chargers can also send energy back from the EV to power your home (Vehicle-to-Home, or V2H) or to feed the electricity grid (Vehicle-to-Grid, or V2G). The technology is a level-up from Vehicle-to-Load (V2L), which is already available in numerous electric cars in Australia and can be used to power external devices and appliances.
Vehicle-to-Home (V2H): Use Your EV as a Home Battery
V2H allows your electric vehicle to function like a home battery, storing excess solar energy during the day and supplying it to your home at night. This reduces reliance on grid electricity and helps cut down household energy costs.
Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G): Support the Grid & Earn Money
V2G enables EV owners to send stored energy back to the grid, helping to stabilise supply during peak demand. Some energy companies offer incentives or credits for participating in V2G programs, making it a potential source of passive income.
Vehicle-to-Load (V2L): Power Devices Directly from Your EV
V2L is a more basic version of bidirectional charging, allowing EV owners to power external devices like camping gear, tools, or emergency appliances. This feature is ideal for off-grid adventures or power outages.
With growing support from energy regulators and automakers, bidirectional charging is becoming an increasingly viable option for Australian EV owners.
Pros & Cons of Bidirectional Charging
Bidirectional chargers offer numerous benefits:
- Energy Independence: Store excess energy produced by your rooftop solar panels during sunny days for use in darker hours, when you may need it more.
- Backup Home Power: Keep the lights on during outages by using your EV as a mobile battery.
- Blackout Risk Mitigation: In a world first, V2G technology was used to send energy from EVs parked in Canberra to the grid to assist in a major blackout event in Victoria that saw 500,000 homes without power.
- Grid Participation: Energy companies can offer incentives to encourage you to sell stored electricity in your EV battery back to the grid, offsetting your energy bills.
- Cost Savings: Take advantage of cheaper electricity rates by charging at off-peak times.
However, there are also challenges associated with bidirectional EV charging:
- High Initial Cost: The first V2G charger available in Australia, the Quasar Wallbox, cost $10,000 – about as much as a home energy storage battery. While this version is no longer available, the price was certainly a deterrent in South Australia where the technology was first regulated.
- Carmaker Preparedness: Some carmakers have confirmed that their vehicles are V2G ready but that they will need to make changes to their warranties and update software to be able to officially offer the tech to owners. Other carmakers say the hardware is not yet in the vehicles.
- Complex Regulations: Despite significant regulatory updates in late 2024 aimed at standardizing and facilitating bidirectional EV charging, complexities remain. Australia’s energy authorities introduced new standards to better integrate bidirectional chargers, streamlining the approval process and clarifying compliance requirements for consumers and installers. Nonetheless, navigating grid connection requirements, varying state-level feed-in tariffs, and evolving rules for grid participation still require careful consideration.
- Battery Wear Concerns: There have been some concerns that increased battery cycling may potentially shorten battery lifespan. However BYD’s Marc Harland said that BYD does not see this being an issue at the Everything Electric Home Energy & Electric Vehicle expo in Sydney in March.
Is Bidirectional Charging Currently Available in Australia?
While not yet directly available to Australians, the technology has been successfully tested through small-scale trials. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has recently laid out a roadmap to integrate bidirectional EV chargers into the national grid, marking significant progress in addressing regulatory hurdles.
The recent updates to Australian Standards (AS/NZS 4777.1:2024 and AS/NZS 4777.2:2020) have made connecting these chargers to the grid easier, but they’re still relatively untested. Meanwhile, global standards like ISO 15118-20 and OCPP 2.1 are crucial but aren’t fully rolled out yet, making plug-and-play charging between different brands still a bit tricky.
Then there’s CSIP-AUS, a uniquely Australian solution for managing grid connections. It’s particularly important for homes with rooftop solar and could be key to making sure the system doesn’t overload during peak sunshine hours.
While there’s some uncertainty around exactly how and when bidirectional charging will fully catch on, Australia’s roadmap aims to see we’ll cross the finish line in the near future. If done right, this could mean cheaper electricity, fewer blackouts, and a major step forward in managing renewable energy at home and across the grid.
Cost of Bidirectional Chargers in Australia
As mentioned above, bidirectional EV chargers are not cheap, initially starting at around $10,000. Compared to standard home EV charger costs, it’s no drop in the ocean.
However, as new V2G chargers hit the Australian market in 2025, we can expect prices to drop noticeably, likely starting around the $5,000 mark. Final costs will depend on factors like brand, special features, installation complexity, and whether there are any government incentives available to sweeten the deal.
Also important to understand is the difference between DC and AC V2G chargers, as we explain below.
DC vs AC V2G chargers: What’s the difference?
DC-coupled EV chargers
DC-coupled EV chargers take power directly from your car’s battery (which is DC), sending it straight to an external inverter that converts it into AC power for your home or the grid. These systems are highly efficient since there’s just one power conversion involved, making them a great fit if you’ve already got solar panels or battery storage. The downside is that they’re usually more expensive and trickier to install due to the extra equipment.
AC V2G chargers
AC V2G chargers, on the other hand, use your car’s built-in inverter to convert DC battery power into AC right there inside the vehicle. This means the system is simpler and often cheaper to set up—much like installing a regular home EV charger. However, because the power has to be converted multiple times, these chargers aren’t always as efficient, especially when paired with solar systems.
Best Bidirectional EV Chargers Available in Australia
With standards and policy progression, Australia’s bidirectional charger market is finally looking ripe for growth, and there are a number of notable brands on the horizon (and some that are not!) These include:
- Sigenergy Bidirectional Charger: Made by renewable home energy newcomer Sigenergy, which also sells stackable home energy systems, this V2G-ready EV charger is something of a wunderkind. This is because it is also a 22kW DC charger, making charging at home a top-speed (in home charging terms) affair. Pricing sits around $7,000.
- Enphase Bidirectional Charger: A bidirectional EV charger from Enphase is something many Enphase solar inverter owners have on their wishlist, but unfortunately the latest word via Reddit is that this unicorn has been pushed out to 2026.
- RedEarth (Ambibox) Charger: The RedEarth V2G charger was on show at Everything Electric 2025 in Sydney, where a spokesperson said the three-phase version will be due for release locally in July, followed by a single-phase version in late 2025. It is based on Germany’s Ambibox, and has been successfully tested with numerous EVs (see below.)
- Wallbox Quasar 2: The next-gen version of the Wallbox Quasar promises a maximum power rating of 11.5kW (48 amp single-phase) up from the first-gen 7.4kW (32 amp single-phase). It reportedly will also have a “blackout mode” that will allow a compatible EV to charge the home in the event of… a blackout.
- Zappi V2G Charger: UK-based myenergi, which makes the Zappi EV charger, is also working on a V2G charger which it anticipates will be available in the UK from 2025. While details are thin on the ground be sure we will keep you updated when and if this becomes available in Australia.
V2G-compatible EVs in Australia
Historically, the CHAdeMO plug standard was the only plug type that could be used for V2H and V2G (together known as V2X, or “BiDi”) Available in the Nissan Leaf BEV and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, the tech has been in use in Japan.
CHAdeMO (which stands for ‘CHArge de MOve’) is now being phased out in favour of CCS2 (the CCS stands for Combined Charging System). While not specifically referenced in recent Australian Standard updates, vehicles with CCS2 plugs will be able to use V2X technology when it becomes available.
Although no carmakers in Australia are yet officially selling models as “BiDi-ready”, testing data shared with us at Everything Electric by Ambibox importer RedEarth suggests that almost all of the 40 models they have tested so far already are at least BiDi-capable. The only models in the list below that were not successful in testing were the Mercedes-Benz EQE, Porsche Taycan and BMW i4.
List of Tested Vehicles for Bidirectional Charging (V2G & V2H)
Installing a Bidirectional Charger at Home
Installing a bidirectional charger involves several important steps:
- EV Compatibility Check: First, confirm with your carmaker that your electric vehicle supports bidirectional charging.
- Electrical Infrastructure: Assess whether your home runs on single-phase or three-phase power. Single-phase is common in residential homes, but three-phase can handle higher power and may be necessary for some chargers.
- Grid Approval: Securing approval from your energy provider and meeting regulatory requirements, especially important for V2G systems that actively interact with the grid. An good electrician versed in EV technology should be able to assist you here.
- Solar Integration: To maximise renewable energy benefits and reduce costs, integrating the charger with your home’s solar system is highly recommended. This setup allows your EV battery to store excess solar energy during the day for later use, cutting down reliance on grid electricity and significantly lowering your long-term energy expenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any EV use a bidirectional charger?
Is bidirectional charging available in Australia?
Which electric cars in Australia support V2G?
Why are bidirectional EV chargers expensive?
Can V2L power a house?
Does Tesla support bidirectional charging in Australia?
How much does a bidirectional EV charger cost in Australia?
With the Australian market and policy actively pivoting to vehicle-to-grid technology, bidirectional EV chargers are almost here, ready to transform not just how we power our vehicles, but how we engage with our homes and the grid itself.
As a co-organizer of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum, Bridie is actively involved in EV advocacy and community engagement. She also owns a Tesla Model Y.
- Bidirectional EV Chargers Explained: V2G, V2H & V2L in Australia (2025 Guide) - 26 March, 2025
- How much does it cost to charge an EV in Australia? - 5 February, 2025
- How many solar panels do you need to charge an EV in Australia? - 4 February, 2025
