Key takeaways

Bidirectional EV technology can act as a flexible, distributed energy resource, supporting grid stability and renewable integration

Real-world testing highlights both the potential and the practical challenges of deploying V2G systems at scale

Collaboration between industry and testing facilities accelerates innovation and readiness for deployment

Project Overview & Challenge

As the energy system transitions toward a low-carbon future, increasing reliance on renewable generation is creating new challenges around flexibility, stability, and demand management.

Electric vehicles present a significant opportunity to address these challenges—not just as consumers of electricity, but as active participants in the energy system. Bidirectional charging enables EVs to both draw power from and export energy back to the grid, unlocking their potential as distributed energy resources.

However, realising this potential requires more than technical capability. It demands robust validation to ensure systems can operate safely, reliably, and effectively under real-world conditions—particularly when integrating multiple technologies across hardware, software, and communication platforms.

To address this, PNDC worked with industry leaders and project stakeholders Octopus Energy, Resillion, BYD, Kraken and Zaptec to test and validate a next-generation Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) system.

PNDC provided a unique environment that bridges the gap between laboratory testing and real-world deployment. Through a combination of live network infrastructure and advanced grid simulation capabilities, the project was able to:

Evaluate system performance under real operating conditions

Simulate dynamic grid scenarios, including voltage and frequency variations

Provide independent, evidence-based validation of system behaviour

This integrated approach enabled rapid iteration, helping to identify performance limitations, inform system improvements, and accelerate readiness for wider deployment.

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Testing at PNDC’s Wardpark industry-facing innovation centre

Real-World Network Testing

As figure 1 shows, the system was connected to a live network environment to evaluate performance under standard operating conditions, demonstrating how bidirectional EV technology can safely export energy to the grid under live network conditions.

FIGURE 1
Test setup with power export to PNDC network.

Simulated Grid Testing

A programmable power supply was used to replicate a range of grid scenarios.

FIGURE 2
A controlled test setup using advanced grid simulation to replicate dynamic voltage and frequency conditions, enabling rigorous validation of V2G system performance.

“Bidirectional EVs have the potential to fundamentally change how we think about energy flexibility—but only if they can operate reliably under real-world conditions.”
Dr Anish Babu, Project Lead, PNDC

This project demonstrates how PNDC can support grid flexibility, accelerate decarbonisation, and enable a more resilient energy system. We can now see a clear pathway to making bidirectional technologies work at scale, reinforcing the role EVs can play as active grid assets and underlining the importance of rigorous, real-world validation in turning that potential into reality.

Dr Soumia Ayyadi

Validate Your Technology with PNDC

PNDC offers a comprehensive range of testing capabilities to support the development and validation of advanced energy technologies. This includes operating range verification, power quality assessments such as harmonic distortion and DC current injection, power factor evaluation, and detailed analysis of system behaviour under abnormal grid conditions, including voltage and frequency response, protection trips, and ride-through performance. By combining real network infrastructure with advanced grid simulation, PNDC enables rigorous, real-world validation to help organisations de-risk innovation and accelerate deployment.

Get in touch to learn more and explore opportunities for collaboration.

Inside the V2G Testing Environment

 

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