SOCAR said on the 6th it will launch a pilot project for electric vehicle V2G (vehicle to grid) at the Jeju SOCAR Terminal.
The pilot aims to apply EV V2G technology to rental car services to use electric vehicles as energy resources connected to the power grid. V2G is a technology that allows electricity stored in EV batteries to flow to and from the grid in both directions, discharging during peak demand and charging when surplus power is available.
The project will be carried out under a regulatory sandbox pilot exception jointly approved by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. As a result, restrictions on EV discharging at industrial charging facilities are eased, and participation of rental EVs in the power market is allowed.
SOCAR plans to use rental vehicles capable of large-scale charging and discharging to conduct operational data analysis, establish operating standards for charging and discharging, and verify safety through the pilot. It will apply the entire process of converting EVs into energy resources to its B2C rental car service.
The pilot will take place at the Jeju offline hub, the SOCAR Terminal. SOCAR has installed a total of 15 bidirectional chargers and V2G-designated parking spaces, and will deploy Ioniq 9 and EV9 vehicles.
During the first half, SOCAR will expand bidirectional chargers to up to 200 units in connection with the research and development (R&D) project roadmap led by the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP). It will also gradually increase the share of EV operations in Jeju to lay the groundwork for large-scale V2G commercialization.
Jeju has the nation's highest EV penetration of about 10% and a high share of renewable energy, and it is the country's largest rental car market with about 30,000 vehicles in operation.
Jung Jin-ho, SOCAR's EV strategy business team leader, said, "This will be an opportunity to confirm the potential for electric vehicles to be used as energy resources beyond transportation," adding, "Through this pilot, we will continue to validate EV-based energy models."