Mitsubishi adds vehicle-to-grid EV charging to Australian HQ

Mitsubishi has installed vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bidirectional chargers at its Adelaide headquarters to help stabilise the electricity grid, cut electricity costs and reduce its reliance on pollution-emitting power plants.

Two Wallbox Quasar V2G chargers have been fitted by JetCharge, each costing around $10,000 each. The project makes Mitsubishi the first automaker in Australia to adopt the technology, despite not having a pure-electric model in its range.

The new system allows the Japanese brand to use its V2G-compatible Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and Outlander plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) as a 13.8kWh and 20kWh home energy storage system respectively.

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By plugging in the CHAdeMO DC port when they’re parked, the SUVs feed their battery charge to power the office and even sell it back to the electricity grid in peak periods – if there’s leftover energy.

Then, when the sun’s out, it will recharge the PHEV batteries automatically, using the limitless free energy hitting Mitsubishi HQ’s 100kW solar array.

The local arm said it sees this as a pilot study for bidirectional charging in homes and businesses across Australia, with the Outlander PHEV able to independently supply electricity for a typical Australian household for up to seven days.

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“We are immensely proud to be the first automotive brand in Australia with bi-directional charging capability,” Mitsubishi Motors Australia CEO Shaun Westcott said.

“It’s the next step in realising our vision to deploy Mitsubishi [PHEV] technology and become a more environmentally sustainable operation. Recent power outages are a timely reminder of this technology’s value.

“The e-mobility space is continually evolving, and likewise we are evolving how Mitsubishi [PHEV] users can unlock the benefits of battery energy storage on wheels, and how this can support the grid of the future,” he said.

It follows the approval of V2G for South Australians in December last year with a few pilot sites, helping homes and businesses go off-grid when combined with solar panel systems.

Currently, only the Japanese Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV, and Outlander PHEV support bidirectional charging, with more EVs expected to adopt the tech over time.

V2G differs from vehicle-to-load (V2L) found on electric cars such as the BYD Atto 3, MG ZS EV and Kia EV6, which can only discharge its battery to power a device – instead of going both ways to power an entire home and recharge the battery automatically.