Bidirectional charging is EV charging hardware and vehicle capability that lets power flow both ways: from the grid into the battery, and from the battery back out to a home, a building, or the grid. The outbound modes are known as vehicle-to-home (V2H), vehicle-to-building (V2B), and vehicle-to-grid (V2G).
State of play
- The California Energy Commission’s March 2026 roadmap models about three times the value from bidirectional charging as from managed one-way charging, and lists the barriers: interoperability, equipment cost above $10,000, interconnection under Rule 21, and unsettled compensation.
- A marketplace that pays a parked car for its stored energy does not yet exist in any substantial form. Managed one-way charging works today.
Why it matters for parking
A 2,000-stall garage can clear the interconnection, equipment, and compensation hurdles once; 2,000 homeowners would have to clear them 2,000 times. If bidirectional charging ever scales, parking structures are where it aggregates. Source: CEC Bidirectional Charging Roadmap, 2026.