Amber ready to pay customers to charge their EVs as it prepares for vehicle to grid

Australian technology and electricity Amber is launching a new product that could see EV owners getting paid for charging their car at home, and in the future paid also for sending power back to the grid.

Amber has already made a splash in the market with its innovative products based around wholesale prices, and it has been particularly interesting for households with battery storage that can time their consumption – and their exports – to suit.

Now Amber is launching a new product – Amber for EVs – as a first step towards exploiting EVs as true batteries on wheels as vehicle to grid technology and two-way charging is rolled out across the country.

Co-CEO Chris Thompson says the initial EV product – which will focus on Tesla EVs before being rolled out for other electric models – will enable households to time their charging when wholesale prices are low, or even negative. That means that they can charge for free, or even be paid to charge if the wholesale prices fall below zero as they often do, particularly in spring.

“The idea is to help customers get as much free charging as possible. We are even offering EV owners to get paid to charge,” Thompson told The Driven.

But the bigger and longer term focus is on vehicle-to-grid technology, particularly after the federal government announced the agreement on new standards that will pave the way for bidirectional charging, allowing EV owners to use the big batteries in their cars to send power and services back to the grid, and potentially get paid handsomely for it.

Amber already has a handful of customers on “beta trials” – owners of Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlanders that use the old CHAdeMO protocol – and that delivered earnings of up to $300 a day during the high priced market events in May when a series of network outages and coal generator failures sent wholesale prices soaring.

The new standard paves the way for bi-directional charging with the CCS2 protocol now common in EVs, and the likes of RedEarth and SigEnergy are already preparing products. Thompson says this will be the big part of its market within a few years.

“The future is quite clear,” Thompson says. “Every EV will be able to do bi-directional charging. With potential earnings of $2,000 a year there is $20,000 of value in a car over its 10-year lifespan.”

Amber’s products are different to those offered by bigger retailers, who favour a “virtual power plant” model for their customers. But that requires the retailers retaining some control over those assets – be they rooftop solar, home batteries or EVs – and  Thompson says many will not want to do this.

“We can’t imagine a VPP model working – it seems like bonkers to us to expect people to hand over keys to their car,” he says.

“My big dream is that homeowners, with rooftop solar and V2G will become far and away the largest generation source on the grid. It will make residential markets a net receiver of revenues. It will be the biggest thing for our business in five years time.”

Amber says its Amber for EV product – as it currently stands before the rollout of V2G on a wide scale – allows customers to prioritise charging their EVs before exporting solar power to the grid, or charging their EV from the grid. That ensures maximum value from their solar surplus as feed-in tariffs (FiTs) decline.

Amber says its system tracks real-time wholesale energy prices, offering more opportunities for free or low-cost charging – whether or not the EV owner has solar.

“As the only energy retailer that rewards customers when renewables drive wholesale energy prices below zero, Amber pays EV owners to charge during these periods, making it easier to benefit from cleaner, cheaper energy,” it says.

“By aligning EV charging with renewable energy peaks, Amber for EVs’ automation is designed to ensure households’ EV adoption supports the transition to a 100% renewable energy future. This is in contrast to charging at peak times or on traditional charging models that incentivise overnight charging, which is mostly powered by fossil fuels.

“We’re at a point where there’s more renewable energy in the grid than ever before – so much so that it’s often going to waste, yet households are still seeing their energy bills rise. Amber for EVs ensures drivers can take full advantage of these renewable peaks by using this excess energy to charge their cars, saving on bills and cutting emissions.”

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