A bidirectional EV charger turns your electric vehicle into a giant battery on wheels — one you can draw from to power your home, back up critical circuits during a blackout, or export to the grid during evening peak. For Australian households weighing up a home battery against vehicle-to-home (V2H) capability, the economics are starting to look genuinely interesting. Here's what a bidirectional EV charger actually costs in Australia, which hardware is available, and which vehicles currently support it.
What "Bidirectional" Actually Means
A normal EV charger only pushes electricity one way — from the grid (or your solar) into the car. A bidirectional EV charger can also pull energy back out of the car's traction battery and send it into your home circuits or the grid. There are two very different architectures in the Australian market:
- DC bidirectional chargers talk to the car over CHAdeMO or CCS2 and handle the AC-to-DC (and DC-to-AC) conversion inside the wall unit itself. This is how the Wallbox Quasar 2, Sigenergy SigenStor and JET Charge Bi-directional units work. They are larger, heavier, and more expensive — but they work with stock vehicles.
- AC bidirectional chargers rely on the car's onboard inverter to push AC back out. The hardware is simpler and cheaper, but the vehicle needs to support it natively — something the Australian fleet is only starting to get.
Ford's Charge Station Pro, bundled with the F-150 Lightning in North America, is a cautionary tale — it only works with that single vehicle. In Australia, most 2025 bidirectional installs are DC units paired with CHAdeMO or CCS2-capable cars.
Which Vehicles Support V2H or V2G in Australia?
Not every EV can feed power back. Bidirectional capability is a design decision made by the carmaker, and until recently only a handful of models qualified:
- Nissan Leaf (CHAdeMO) — the pioneer of V2H in Australia, used in the ARENA-funded Realising Electric Vehicle-to-grid Services (REVS) trial in the ACT.
- Kia EV9 and EV6 GT-Line — V2L is standard; V2H/V2G is on the roadmap via CCS2 depending on firmware and charger pairing.
- BYD Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal — offer V2L (vehicle-to-load) via an adapter, which is not the same as whole-home V2H, but useful for camping and blackouts.
- MG4 — V2L standard; full V2H via CCS2 is being rolled out as part of ongoing OEM and Standards Australia work.
- Polestar 3 — V2H/V2G is part of the published roadmap.
- Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 — 3.6 kW V2L as standard; V2G being trialled.
Installed Hardware Cost in Australia
The unit price of a DC bidirectional charger is only part of the story — installation, switchgear, and grid-connection approval push the all-in cost significantly higher than a standard 7 kW AC charger. Expect the following ranges in 2025–2026:
| Hardware | Type | Unit Price | Installed Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallbox Quasar 2 | DC, CCS2, 11.5 kW | $9,000–$11,000 | $12,500–$15,500 |
| JET Charge Bi-directional | DC, CHAdeMO/CCS2 | $8,500–$10,500 | $11,500–$14,500 |
| Sigenergy SigenStor (EV DC module) | DC hybrid with battery | $10,000–$13,000 | $14,000–$18,000 |
| Ford Charge Station Pro (F-150 only) | AC, 19.2 kW | $2,500–$3,500 | $5,500–$7,500 |
| Standard 7 kW AC charger (for comparison) | One-way | $900–$1,600 | $1,800–$3,000 |
On top of the hardware, a bidirectional install typically needs a network-approved protection relay, an updated switchboard, and in many networks a specific grid-connection application. Allow $1,500–$3,000 for these extras if they aren't already bundled into your installer's quote.
AS/NZS 4777.2 Compliance and Grid Approval
Any inverter exporting energy into an Australian grid-connected home must comply with AS/NZS 4777.2. The 2020 update of the standard finally added clear provisions for bidirectional EV chargers, which is why hardware like the Wallbox Quasar 2 took time to land locally. Your installer will need to lodge a pre-approval with your DNSP (Ausgrid, Endeavour, Essential, Energex, Ergon, SA Power Networks, Powercor, Jemena, Ausnet, Evoenergy, TasNetworks or Western Power) before connection.
Export limits still apply — most networks cap a single-phase export at 5 kW and a three-phase export at 15 kW, though some DNSPs now offer dynamic "flexible export" that can unlock more headroom during low-demand periods. This directly affects how much value you can extract from V2G.
ARENA Trials and Where the Market Sits
The REVS project in the ACT connected 51 Nissan Leafs to the grid via Wallbox Quasar units and demonstrated that V2G could provide grid frequency services — earning revenue rather than just shifting energy. The follow-up Realising Electric Vehicles to Grid Services (REVS II) and the AGL-led V2G trial in South Australia are now widening the pool of supported cars and retailers.
Retailers like Amber, Origin and AGL have signalled they will pay premium export rates or flat monthly fees to households that enrol bidirectional EVs in virtual power plants. Early offers in 2025 sit around $800–$1,500 per year for a participating vehicle, on top of any solar feed-in revenue.
Use Cases: Where a Bidirectional Charger Earns Its Keep
There are three distinct value streams that together determine whether V2H hardware pays for itself:
- Whole-home backup. A 60–100 kWh EV battery can power a typical Australian home for 3–5 days in a blackout. No dedicated home battery comes close in raw capacity.
- Solar self-consumption shift. Charge from rooftop solar during the day, discharge into the home across the evening peak. Displaces grid imports at 35–55 c/kWh.
- VPP and wholesale arbitrage. Retailers like Amber pass through wholesale prices, which can spike above $1/kWh. A bidirectional EV earning $300–$900/year from wholesale export is now realistic.
Bidirectional EV Charger vs Home Battery
The direct comparison most households make is: do I spend $12,000 on a 10 kWh home battery, or $14,000 on a bidirectional EV charger that uses my car's 60–80 kWh pack?
| Attribute | 10 kWh Home Battery | Bidirectional EV Charger + EV |
|---|---|---|
| Installed cost | $9,000–$14,000 | $11,500–$15,500 (charger only) |
| Usable capacity | ~9 kWh | 30–60 kWh (depending on reserve) |
| Cycles available for home use | Daily | Only when car is home |
| Backup duration (typical home) | 12–18 hours | 3–5 days |
| Battery warranty impact | N/A (dedicated) | Minor; OEMs now warrant V2G cycles |
| VPP compatibility | Widespread | Early but growing |
For a household with a single EV that's home most evenings, the bidirectional charger wins on capacity per dollar. For a household with multiple drivers or an EV that's often away at commute hours, a dedicated home battery is the more reliable option. A growing number of installers will quote both side by side.
Model the Numbers for Your Setup
The payoff from V2H depends on your solar size, your tariff, your driving pattern and whether you join a VPP. Plug your own figures into our Solar + EV Calculator to see how solar self-consumption, grid charging and V2H export shift your annual energy bill — and whether a bidirectional charger is worth it over a dedicated home battery for your household.