The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced A$4 million in funding on October 21, 2026 for what it calls Australia’s largest commercial vehicle-to-grid (V2G) deployment. The project, Realising Electric Vehicle-to-Grid Services 2 (REVS2), will place up to 130 electric vehicles and bidirectional chargers across the ACT Government fleet. Charging company JET Charge leads the project.
Key Takeaways
- ARENA is funding a 130-vehicle V2G deployment with A$4 million.
- REVS2 tests whether fleets can earn grid value without losing vehicle availability.
- It builds on Australia’s first V2G trial, funded in 2020.
- Interoperability testing is advancing in parallel through OCPP Plugfests.
Key Figures
- Funding: A$4 million from ARENA.
- Scale: up to 130 EVs paired with bidirectional chargers.
- Host fleet: Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government vehicles.
- Local adoption: the ACT Government says more than 40% of newly registered vehicles in the territory this financial year are battery-electric.
Background
REVS2 follows the original REVS project, which ARENA funded in 2020. That trial showed EVs could safely export electricity to the grid, and ACT Minister Suzanne Orr noted that several government fleet vehicles fed power back during an outage in February 2024. The new phase moves from proving the technology to testing the business case: how a large fleet can be rewarded for grid support while still meeting daily transport needs.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller described the project as a step from successful trials toward widespread adoption, and said it targets a missing piece for bidirectional charging in Australia: fleet incentives. REVS2 sits alongside ARENA’s other V2X work, including the national Bidirectional Charging Roadmap it funded in 2025.
The announcement coincided with Australia’s first Open Charge Alliance Plugfest in Canberra, where charger makers, charging station management system providers and energy companies tested interoperability between chargers, energy platforms and grid systems.
What It Means
For fleet managers and site owners, REVS2 signals that V2G is being judged on operating cost, not just technical feasibility. Results from a 130-vehicle fleet will give utilities and fleet buyers real data on availability, revenue and battery use. Until bidirectional hardware is widely certified in a market, most depots will still install one-way smart chargers that can be scheduled and capped through OCPP, then plan for bidirectional units later.
Distributors and installers should watch two things: the interoperability results from events such as the Canberra Plugfest, and local certification rules for exporting power. For one-way managed depot charging today, see EVDANCE’s commercial charging solutions or our distributor program.
Related Reading
- Is Bidirectional Charging Available in Australia?
- EV Charging News: New South Wales Offers A$16.5 Million for Kerbside and Fleet Chargers
- Bidirectional Charging Explained: V2L, V2H and V2G
