Every day, thousands of electric vehicles are plugged into chargers across New Zealand. Most draw power from the grid, charge their batteries and sit idle until the next trip.
But what if those parked vehicles could do more?
What if the vehicle battery sitting in a driveway, depot or office carpark could help power a home or business during an outage, reduce electricity costs, or even support the wider electricity system during peak demand periods?
Those are the questions the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and OpenLoop, Counties Energy’s national EV charging services arm, intend to answer through one of New Zealand’s largest real-world trials of two-way charging technology.
OpenLoop has been selected by EECA to lead the delivery of this two-way charging trial across multiple urban centres, including Auckland. The programme will demonstrate how EVs using two-way chargers can support households, businesses, fleets, retailers, aggregators and the wider electricity system. Up to 100 two-way chargers are expected to be installed across homes, commercial fleets and depot environments, including a small number of heavy vehicle chargers.
The urban trial will build on and expand an earlier pilot, generating further insights into how two-way chargers perform in denser urban environments across a wider range of vehicle models.
The premise of the trial is that every plugged-in EV has the potential to become a mobile energy resource capable of storing and supplying electricity when and where it is needed.
Two-way chargers with V2X functionality are not yet widely available in New Zealand. While there is growing uptake and widespread trials internationally, the technology is in the early stages of adoption. Standards are still being developed and assumptions about customer value and system benefits have yet to be tested locally.
For customers, there are many potential benefits, including reducing the cost of their power bills by changing their consumption behaviour. For example, EV owners could charge their vehicles when electricity prices are lower and export electricity when prices are higher – thereby getting more value from a battery they already own. In some situations, vehicles could also provide backup power during outages or extreme weather events, improving household and business resilience.
The flexibility provided by bidirectional charging could create benefits across the energy system. EV batteries could help reduce peak electricity demand and ease pressure on transmission and local electricity networks, making better use of existing infrastructure and helping defer costly upgrades to the poles and wires that deliver electricity to homes and businesses. Greater flexibility could also support the integration of renewable energy by shifting when and how electricity is consumed and supplied.
The trial will be delivered collaboratively by OpenLoop and EECA, and will require support from market partners, including vehicle manufacturers. OpenLoop will lead the programme, managing participant recruitment, charger deployment and integration, customer support and collecting trial insights. Electricity retailers and EV manufacturers interested in exploring how bidirectional charging could create value for customers and support the wider electricity system are welcome to get in touch* and join the trial.
For OpenLoop, the trial is as much about gathering knowledge as it is about deploying technology.
The programme will draw on Counties Energy’s wider Distribution System Operator (DSO) capabilities, enabling flexibility participating chargers to be coordinated and made available to the energy ecosystem.
The trial will collect technical, operational and customer experience data across a range of real-world environments, from residential households to commercial fleet operators. The resulting insights could provide some of the clearest evidence yet about how EVs can play a meaningful role beyond transportation and become part of New Zealand’s future energy infrastructure.
* Electricity retailers and EV manufacturers please email support@openloop.co.nz
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Why can’t I top up my balance on the Openloop app?
Openloop has a pay-as-you go payment system which allows our customers to charge their EVs using a saved credit card on their account without needing a minimum balance on their app.
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How do I save my credit card details on my Openloop account?
When you are in the mobile app, go to “Account” using the bottom nav bar, press “payment” and add your credit card to save it there.
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What happens if I still have some money on my top up balance?
Existing balances will be utilised first before credit card charges are applied. For example, if a customer currently has $5 on their account balance and their charging session cost $15, then their credit card will be charged the $10 difference and their account balance will be reduced to $0.
Alternatively, if your top up balance more than covers the cost of your total charge, this will be used first and your credit card charged only in future transactions.
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How do I get the Pay-as-you-go payment function on my Openloop app?
To access Pay-as-you-go for public chargers on the OpenLoop charging network, please update your mobile app by visiting the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
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Is there any change to the EV charging process for free or paid chargers?
No, there is no change to the existing steps that you take to start a charging session. The only changes are that you no longer have to top-up, and holds will no longer made on your credit card at the start of a charging session.
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What is a “free” EV charging station?
On the mobile app, you may come across EV Chargers that have a tariff listed as “FREE” these EV Chargers are free to use.
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Why does the app look different?
We have updated our logo and visual identity to better reflect what OpenLoop represents – a forward thinking and innovative technology company. The new look app also reflects customer feedback to improve the experience of using our mobile app.
