BMW and E.ON launch Germany's first commercial Vehicle-to-Grid system

BMW, together with E.ON, has launched Germany's first commercial Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) system for private customers. It allows electric vehicle owners to feed energy from the battery back into the grid and earn up to 720 euros per year for it.

What is known

The first BMW model to support V2G is the new iX3 on the Neue Klasse platform. In the future, the technology will also appear on other models in this series.

The system is based on bidirectional charging and supports Vehicle-to-Grid, Vehicle-to-Home, and Vehicle-to-Load modes. The package includes a BMW Wallbox Professional wall charging station with a capacity of 11 kW, a special E.ON ÖkoStrom Home Drive V2G tariff with a reverse energy supply contract, and a "smart" electricity meter. The first 100 iX3 buyers will receive a 700 euro discount on the charging station.

The reward is calculated at a rate of 0.24 euros per hour of car connection with V2G activated, but no more than 60 euros per month or 720 euros per year. To achieve the maximum, the car must be connected for about 250 hours a month.

According to BMW calculations, with an average consumption of 50 xDrive iX3 at the level of 15.1–17.9 kWh per 100 km, the annual bonus is equivalent to 12–14 thousand km of mileage at no charging cost. The process can be managed through the My BMW app: set the minimum charge level and control income, while BMW and E.ON algorithms monitor battery resource preservation.

Simultaneously, BMW is launching a simpler solution for all BMW and MINI electrified models, which automatically charges the car during periods of low electricity prices, but without the function of bidirectional energy transfer.

Source: BMW