In Depth: China’s Vision for Batteries on Wheels

In its first annual report about government debt to the country’s top legislature, the State Council also pledges to deepen reform of treasury debt management

Everyone knows that electric vehicles (EVs) run on batteries. But those batteries can power more than just the clean-running cars that seem to be taking over our cities.

Seen from the birds-eye perspective of city planners, an EV is essentially a power battery on wheels. And when those wheels aren’t turning, why not use some of their energy to prop up the electricity grid?

Enter the “vehicle-to-grid” system, or V2G, where — coordinated by a “virtual” power plant — the flow of energy between charging stations and EVs becomes a two-way street, letting cars charge up when power is abundant and discharge electricity back into the grid during peak hours when demand surges. Experts said it could be crucial to nailing the broader energy transition away from fossil fuels.

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