Plug-and-Play Grid Resilience: How Vehicles integrated into grid (VGI) can save €15 billion annually

Smart storage on wheels and beyond - essential for Europe’s flexible energy future

Europe’s energy system faces a fundamental challenge: efficient integration of rapidly growing renewable power with rising demand, including millions of electric vehicles (EVs). Balancing  generation with dynamic demand shifting is no longer optional - it’s essential.  For end users, demand-side flexibility and vehicle-to-grid integration can unlock up to €300 in annual savings or new revenue per household by 2030 - assuming participation in dynamic tariffs and grid service markets through flexible assets like EVs or heat pumps.

These distributed storage assets - EVs, stationary batteries, home storages - are at the heart of this transformation - and offer unprecedented potential to stabilize the grid. Yet realizing this value goes beyond technology. It requires a systemic approach combining intelligent orchestration between consumer, energy markets and grid . The technology also needs to enable utilities and OEMs to engage with consumers in ways that align with grid needs and market signals.

What is required: Intelligent orchestration and adaptive consumer participation

Utilities and grid operators require systems and solutions capable of aggregating and coordinating widespread, distributed assets in real time, responding to complex market conditions without compromising end-user convenience or battery health. These platforms must integrate seamlessly with utility’s existing systems, multiple energy markets signals such as wholesale energy, grid balancing, capacity markets, and optimize charging and discharging decisions based on tariff & OEM constraints.

At the same time, consumer engagement is vital. Smart tariffs and financial incentives create the behavioral framework for asset owners to actively participate. Customers can generate hassle free revenue by automating their energy shift in response to pricing signals enabling the grid to absorb demand fluctuations, reduce peaks, and better integrate renewables.

In essence, unlocking the full flexibility potential requires both technological capability and market-driven consumer adoption moving in tandem.

A very promising use-case: EVs will provide 3.5 TWh of battery capacity by 2030

Electric vehicles could play a significant role in this transition. By 2030, 60-80 million – equaling 3-5TWh battery capacity - are forecast to connect to power grids.

Traditionally viewed as passive loads, EVs now represent a distributed storage capacity all over Europe that can be charged and discharged dynamically. With bidirectional charging, energy can flow both into and out of the vehicle battery - enabling Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) applications that actively support grid stability.

By discharging during periods of high demand and absorbing excess renewable power during oversupply, V2G-capable EVs help balance the system, reduce peak loads, and improve the integration of wind and solar energy.

The challenge: Connecting thousands of EV batteries to markets at scale

To fully exploit this potential thousands of distributed EV batteries need to be aggregated into one virtual power plant - and orchestrated through standardized communication protocols. The system must optimize across the following critical domains:

• Integration to OEMs: A deep integration with OEMs to protect warranty
• User needs : ensuring consumer needs are captured and always prioritized
• Battery health management: carefully managing charge cycles to minimize battery impact and extend asset lifetime
• Grid constraints: shaping load profiles to reduce stress and support stability
• Dynamic optimization: high frequency iteration of charging & energy trading to act on market signals

This real-time asset orchestration, paired with automated multi-market trading, closes the loop from physical hardware to market participation - enabling measurable, monetized grid flexibility 24/7.

Mobilize Power in France: Customers drive 10.000 km for free

A pioneering example of this vision in action is Mobilize Power in France, launched 2024 in partnership with Renault, Mobilize, and The Mobility House Energy. It is the world’s first commercially available V2G offering designed specifically for private EV drivers and operating under France’s advanced regulatory regime.

Customers need a compatible car, a bidirectional AC charging station and the matching renewable energy contract. The offering turns the EVs into an active part of the power grid: They charge automatically when electricity is cheap and feed energy back into the grid when needed – generating money back for customers.

The incentive for EV-drivers: compensation of €0.11 per plugged-in hour - roughly €40 per month - effectively letting them drive 10.000 km per year for free when plugging in their EV 14 hours per day. Also, households save up to 20% in total electricity expenses compared to regulated tariffs.

 

The MyRenault app puts the power of V2G in the driver’s hands – displaying key insights like savings from V2G hours, charging schedules, state of charge (SoC), and departure times in real-time

Mobilize Power shows how integrated platforms enable distributed EV batteries to participate seamlessly in real-time energy markets, delivering tangible cost savings while providing crucial grid support. This is not a pilot but a customer-grade energy service demonstrating flexibility and market engagement at commercial scale.

The superior returns are generated by acting on market volatility in intraday continuous markets, where an algo driven energy trading transacts 15-20 times for every kwh of charge.

Looking ahead: Flexibility as the operating system of future grids

The energy system of tomorrow will not rely solely on new transmission lines or large central plants. Instead, millions of distributed, networked assets - vehicles, batteries, and smart home systems - will operate as one virtual power plant, delivering resilience and sustainable value.

Platforms that provide open, standardized, and intelligent orchestration of these assets are central to this evolution. As Europe accelerates toward net zero, integrating flexible storage at scale is not a question of technology readiness but of strategic commitment.

The path forward requires energy leaders and investors to embrace holistic flexibility solutions. Doing so unlocks not only substantial financial benefits but also advances the twin goals of grid stability and decarbonization.