Image: ElliBidirectional charging, and particularly its subcategory vehicle-to-grid (V2G), is considered a key element of the energy transition. It allows excess electricity from the grid to be stored in the traction batteries of electric vehicles during periods of oversupply and fed back into the grid when demand is especially high. Such offerings have recently been launched by BMW in partnership with E.ON and Ford in collaboration with Octopus Energy, while The Mobility House, together with Mercedes-Benz and Renault, has also announced similar plans.Volkswagen and its energy brand Elli have also been working on this topic for some time. Until the end of last year, regulatory barriers in Germany stood in the way of bidirectional charging, but these have now been resolved. As a result, VW, whose ID. EV family has been V2G-capable since 2023, is set to introduce a corresponding offering.Elli and VW are targeting a market launch in Q4 2026, with pre-registration set to begin as early as June. The rollout will initially focus on selected markets, with further European countries to follow in stages.With the new offering, Elli and Volkswagen aim to demonstrate the potential for significantly lower running costs for electric vehicle drivers. According to Elli, customers could save between €700 and €900 annually under optimal conditions. This assumes that users regularly connect their VW electric vehicle to a home wallbox for several hours per day or month. While Elli has yet to define a precise minimum, comparable services typically require connection times of around 12 to 14 hours per day.In the long term, the initiative is designed to reduce overall mobility costs, with Elli ultimately aiming to enable near cost-neutral charging.“Electric mobility can only realize its full potential if it also makes economic sense for our customers. With Vehicle-to-Grid, we are delivering exactly that: significantly lower home charging costs – and, in the long term, nearly cost-free charging. As a pioneer in bidirectional charging, our entire ID. family has been ‘bidi-ready’ since 2023,” stated Martin Sander, Board Member for Sales, Marketing, and After Sales at Volkswagen Passenger Cars. “In this way, we are bringing V2G from innovation into everyday life and making this technology accessible to the mass market. That is the ambition of the Volkswagen brand.”Giovanni Palazzo, CEO of Elli, added: “Vehicle-to-Grid delivers its full value only through the connection of vehicles, infrastructure and the energy market. And that is precisely why we established Elli as the energy interface within the Group. Today, we have the technological and operational capabilities to scale an integrated solution across millions of vehicles and brands. We are now taking the next step: connecting batteries, unlocking new value through aggregation, and making our vision of a ‘Managed Battery Network’ a tangible reality for the first time.”To use the offering, customers will need a dynamic electricity tariff, a DC bidirectional wallbox, a smart meter, and the Elli app. Elli acts as the link between the vehicle, customers, and the energy market, with its own energy trading team operating 24/7 on the EPEX Spot exchange. Recently, Elli also commissioned a stationary energy storage system in Salzgitter for electricity trading.Providers stand to unlock additional revenue streams with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology—and share part of these proceeds with customers. In practice, this could translate into free electricity for around 10,000 kilometres of driving per year, or even direct financial credits.The concept is based on aggregating large numbers of electric vehicles into a virtual power plant. Companies such as Elli can then monetise the stored energy in traction batteries by leveraging price spreads on the electricity market (arbitrage), while also earning revenues for providing grid-stabilising services.To ensure reliable operation, providers typically define minimum connection times. Vehicles must be plugged into a home wallbox for a specified number of hours per day or month to enable participation in these energy market mechanisms.elli.eco