Tianjin Launches Largest V2G Demo, 104 NIO EVs Act as Mobile Power Banks

This event marks a new breakthrough in enabling electric vehicles to function as large-scale, mobile energy storage units capable of responding to grid dispatch within minutes.

Recently, Tianjin, China successfully conducted its largest-scale V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) discharge demonstration event. Under grid dispatch instructions, 104 NIO electric vehicles discharged electricity back to the grid simultaneously. Within five minutes, the discharge power exceeded 1 megawatt (MW), reaching a peak of 1.741 MW.

This event was jointly organized by State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Company and NIO. It marks a new breakthrough in utilizing electric vehicles as mobile energy storage units to achieve large-scale, minute-level response to grid scheduling.

The demonstration was carried out simultaneously at four sites: Zone 1 and Zone 2 of the Xuelian Road Vehicle-Grid Interaction Charging Demonstration Station, the Binhai New Area Dual-Carbon Innovation Demonstration Charging Station, and the Jinghai NIO Battery Swap Station.

Official data shows that at 17:55 on December 15th, the discharge command was officially issued, with the Jinghai NIO Battery Swap Station initiating discharge first. Two minutes later, vehicles at the other three sites synchronously received control instructions and began discharging. Within five minutes, the total V2G discharge power for the Tianjin grid rapidly reached 1 MW. By 18:09, the power further increased to 1.615 MW, and the system entered a precise regulation phase. By 18:39, after 30 minutes of continuous discharge, the average power stabilized at 1.644 MW, with a maximum power of 1.741 MW.

Regarding the technical implementation of V2G, it essentially enables electric vehicles to supply power to the grid during peak load periods and draw power from the grid during off-peak periods, transforming the vehicles into dispatchable mobile energy storage resources.

This technological breakthrough carries three key implications:

• It enhances the grid’s flexible regulation capability.
• Electric vehicles can participate in peak shaving and valley filling, promoting the integration of clean energy sources like wind and solar.
• In emergency power supply scenarios, large-scale clusters of electric vehicles can quickly form distributed power sources to ensure the power supply security for critical loads.

During the event, NIO demonstrated its integrated “Vehicle-Charger-Station-Cloud-Grid” five-in-one technical architecture. This system utilizes energy cloud platforms and edge computing synergy, establishing an AI deep learning prediction engine to achieve intelligent power distribution and flexible station regulation.

Song Bo, the head of NIO’s Tianjin branch, stated that they initiated a recruitment drive through their app and WeChat groups, gathering 104 vehicle owners in just two days.

Furthermore, for vehicle owners, participating in V2G discharge can generate economic benefits through peak-valley electricity price differentials, thereby reducing vehicle usage costs. In similar pilot projects in Jiangsu province, residential users earned approximately 0.85 yuan per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

According to calculations by State Grid Changzhou Power Supply Company, assuming a residential user discharges 14 kWh daily and drives for 300 days a year, the discharge income would be about 4,700 yuan. After deducting charging costs and energy losses, the net profit is close to 3,000 yuan.