Flinders University in Adelaide, SA, is launching 20 vehicle-to-grid (V2G) EV chargers, designed to export spare battery capacity generated by the university’s growing fleet of EVs at the Bedford Park campus.

The deployment also includes two additional EV rapid charging stations, further enhancing charging capacity on campus.

In collaboration with ENGIE Australia & New Zealand, the EV fleet at Flinders University will be fully charged at the beginning of each workday from low-demand night-time energy generated by ENGIE’s Willogoleche Wind Farm in South Australia.

Intermittent daytime charging will be supplemented by Flinders University’s onsite generated solar energy. The fleet will then be used as stationary batteries feeding renewable energy back to the campus grid from 5-9pm, when demand is highest in the wider SA grid and primarily gas-generated.

The South Australian Government is supporting this initiative with more than $350,000 as part of the South Australian Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Trials, enabling the university to procure Nissan Leaf vehicles with two-way batteries pre-installed, which allows them to be charged from the grid but also provide power.