Just a few days ago, the Australian government announced the approval of a new standard that will allow EV owners to begin using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. Queensland-based RedEarth Energy Storage has wasted no time—it has signed a deal with ambibox to produce the German company’s bidirectional V2G-capable EV chargers at its manufacturing facility in Darra, Queensland.
Aussie EV magazine The Driven predicts that some EV makers will enable V2G applications via in-car hardware, while others will rely on bidirectional chargers from third parties such as RedEarth and ambibox.
“RedEarth’s partnership with ambibox opens new opportunities for electric vehicle owners to use their EVs as private power plants,” says Charles Walker, co-founder and CEO of RedEarth. “While rooftop solar and home battery ownership have traditionally been the drivers of the growth of distributed energy resources in Australia, the adoption of EVs has accelerated. With the introduction of V2X standards, RedEarth and ambibox will optimize the returns both for EV owners and homeowners with behind-the-meter assets, and we’ll be well-placed to serve customers as EV adoption gathers pace.”
RedEarth describes the ambibox EV chargers as three-phase-compatible wall chargers, and says they have been successfully tested with the vast majority of EVs available in Australia. The three-phase EV charger is on track to hit the market in the second quarter of 2025, and a single-phase version is expected to be available in the fourth quarter.
RedEarth has not released pricing for its V2G chargers, but a company spokesperson hinted to The Driven that a rough estimate might be around $5,000 Australian (US$3,300).
“RedEarth will be the first Australian EV charger manufacturer to be producing bi-directional chargers locally,” Walker told The Driven. “In addition, we will pave the way for EV owners to be incentivized with additional revenue streams to power the grid and to reduce their reliance on grid electricity by using RedEarth’s private power plant ecosystem.”
Source: The Driven