The so-called ‘Task 53’ from a programme run by the International Energy Agency aims to improve interoperability in the V2G ecosystem – in other words, the interaction between electric cars, charging infrastructure and power grids. Task 53 has now found its first automotive partner: the VW Group.
Task 53 is an initiative of the Electric Vehicle Technology Collaboration Programme within the International Energy Agency (IEA). The international consortium, which is supported by 15 countries, aims to achieve full interoperability in bidirectional charging between electric vehicles, charging infrastructure and power grids.
Task 53 has now announced a “strategically important step”: Volkswagen is the first vehicle manufacturer to enter into a partnership with Task 53. “Volkswagen’s
commitment underscores the importance of Task 53 in advancing sustainable mobility and supporting the global transition to smart, bidirectional charging,” Task 53 wrote.
Volkswagen itself enables bidirectional DC charging in MEB models with the 77 kWh battery from software version 3.5 or higher, so the feature is already quite widespread, but is rarely used in practice. VW itself is still involved in several projects related to bidirectional charging.
Volkswagen recognises “that broad adoption of bidirectional charging depends on robust interoperability between vehicles, chargers, and grids,” according to Task 53. “By joining Task 53, Volkswagen aims to remove existing and newly identified interoperability obstacles—uncovered during intensive testing within Task 53 and its partner laboratories. These ‘bugs & gaps’ currently hinder interoperability and limit the economic viability and scalability of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) solutions,” it continues.
