The project is a joint effort between We Drive Solar, MyWheels, Renault Group, and the Municipality of Utrecht. It aims to tackle a key challenge for modern cities: managing fluctuations from growing volumes of solar and wind energy. With over a third of Utrecht rooftops already equipped with solar panels, excess generation and variable demand create strains on the grid.
V2G technology enables EVs to store surplus solar power during periods of high generation, and return it to the grid during peak demand. This flexibility strengthens local grid resilience, making it easier to integrate renewables without the need for additional large-scale storage.
The network launches with an initial fleet of 50 Renault 5 E-Tech electric vehicles. Plans are already in motion to scale to 500 cars—including models such as the upcoming Renault 4 E-Tech, Megane E-Tech electric, and Scenic E-Tech electric—each equipped with Mobilize’s bidirectional charging technology.
This scale is significant: 500 vehicles could provide up to 10% of the flexibility required to help balance renewable power flows during peak periods in the Utrecht region.
Operations are managed by MyWheels, the Netherlands’ largest car-sharing platform, while We Drive Solar delivers the necessary charging infrastructure. Together, these partners are redefining the car-sharing model—offering users access to clean transport options while enabling idle vehicles to actively contribute to grid stability.
Renault’s compact E-Tech models, designed with bidirectional charging capabilities, are particularly well-suited to urban mobility applications where vehicles spend large portions of the day parked and connected to the grid. In this setup, EVs become not just consumers but also providers of electricity, with implications for both car-sharing economics and grid management strategies.
While Utrecht’s pilot marks a major technical milestone, Renault Group and its partners stress that broader adoption of V2G faces non-technical hurdles. Widespread deployment depends on regulatory alignment and supportive market frameworks that are still lacking in much of Europe.
The company is already operating V2G-ready vehicles in France—models such as the R5, Alpine A290, R4, New Megane, and New Scenic—demonstrating the technology’s commercial readiness. But inconsistent policies and fragmented standards remain key obstacles to scaling V2G solutions across European markets.
Current roadblocks include tax structures that penalize bidirectional energy flows, complex grid fee arrangements, and cumbersome certification processes. To address these barriers, Renault Group and industry partners are urging policymakers to introduce clear fiscal incentives for V2G participation, revise grid fee models to better reflect the value of flexibility services, simplify certification pathways for bidirectional chargers and vehicles, and accelerate the rollout of smart metering infrastructure. These reforms are seen as essential for scaling V2G from pilot projects to a mainstream energy solution across Europe.
