VW and Enercity test vehicle-to-grid

24.03.2026

Source: E & M powernews

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Enercity test bidirectional charging with the "ID. Buzz" in real operation. They want to gain insights into technology, cost-effectiveness and market readiness.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and the municipal energy supplier Enercity from Hanover have launched a cooperation on bidirectional charging. As part of a pilot project, the integration of electric vehicles into the energy market is to be investigated for the first time under real and scalable conditions. A fleet of 75 "ID. Buzz" vehicles and a corresponding charging infrastructure.

According to the partners, the focus is on the interaction between the vehicle, wallbox, energy management system and virtual power plant. The aim is to evaluate the technical feasibility, economic potential and social benefits of vehicle-to-grid applications in commercial use and bring them to market maturity.

The project builds on preliminary studies from 2025 and is now moving into practical implementation. Among other things, technical processes, the marketing of flexibility via virtual power plants and effects on operating costs are being investigated.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles sees the technology as the next step in development. Its CEO, Stefan Mecha, emphasized that the vehicles could serve as energy storage in the future and thus become an active part of the energy transition.

Aurelie Alemany, CEO of Enercity, explained: "With the pilot project, we are making company fleets part of the solution: the e-car batteries provide flexibility exactly when the energy system needs it."

Bidirectional charging and the marketing of flexibility could not only reduce energy costs, but also generate additional revenue, so that under favorable conditions it would even be possible to operate electric vehicles almost free of charge, according to the energy supplier. The company points out that technical proof of bidirectional charging has already been provided in the laboratory. The current project is now about testing economic efficiency and scalability under real conditions.

In the first phase, the project is focusing on commercial fleets with predictable downtimes, for example overnight on company premises. For this application, the aim is to demonstrate that the technology can be easily integrated into existing processes and offers economic benefits. Enercity already uses electric commercial vehicles itself. The ID. Buzz Cargo makes up more than half of the company's own electric fleet, according to the company.

According to the energy supplier, it is one of the few companies in Germany that can simulate bidirectional charging under market-like conditions. This involves combining various sources of revenue such as arbitrage and balancing energy. The aim is to offer an integrated range of vehicles, charging infrastructure and energy products.

In addition to Enercity, the Volkswagen Group brand Elli is also testing corresponding applications. The project partners expect bidirectional charging to enable new business models and at the same time contribute to grid stability and the integration of renewable energies.

Author: Fritz Wilhelm