ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´

Do you own an electric vehicle (EV), or are you considering getting one soon? Imagine a future where your EV does more than just a mode of transportation. When it is parked, it serves you quietly by helping to power your office, a commercial building, or even a university campus. This may sound like science fiction, but it is an emerging technology known as Vehicle-to-Building (V2B) and Building-to-Vehicle (B2V).

What is V2B/B2V?

EVs are not simply a cleaner alternative to petrol or diesel cars. They can be treated as mobile large batteries. On average, an EV battery stores more electricity than a typical home uses in several days.

B2V allows a building to charge EVs, ideally when electricity is cheap or when renewable energy such as solar energy is abundant. V2B, on the other hand, allows EVs to send electricity back to the building during peak demand or power shortages.

Together, these technologies turn EVs into mobile energy storage systems, creating a smarter and more flexible electricity ecosystem.

Is this Important Now?

Countries like Malaysia are expanding solar energy and encouraging EV adoption as part of national sustainability goals towards achieving the net-zero target by the year 2050. However, solar power is intermittent, resulting in high reliance on electricity from the power grid that is mainly from the fossil fuel power plants. To solve this issue, large battery systems are installed in buildings to store excess energy. While effective, these systems are expensive, require dedicated space, and have safety considerations.

V2B and B2V offer a powerful alternative: using batteries that already exist in EVs. Since cars are parked most of the day—at offices, campuses, shopping malls, and homes—their batteries are largely unused. Research shows that even partial use of EV batteries can significantly reduce peak electricity demand without affecting daily driving needs.

As a nation and society, we can benefit from the V2B/B2V technology, such as:

• Business leaders and building owners can reduce electricity bills, especially charges related to peak demand.
• Business entities can optimize renewable energy utilization to fulfil the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) compliance.
• EV owners may receive incentives such as discounted charging or financial rewards for sharing stored energy.
• Communities, including schools, clinics, and community centres, gain improved energy resilience during grid disruptions.
• Society at large benefits from lower building energy costs, lower carbon emissions and a more stable energy grid.

Why is the Research Community Excited?

For researchers, V2B/B2V involves power engineering, energy storage, transportation, and digital technologies. Key research areas include:

• Smart energy management systems
• Battery health and lifespan optimisation
• Grid stability and protection
• Policy, standards, and user behaviour

Universities play a critical role in piloting these technologies, validating real-world performance, and training the next generation of engineers who will design future energy systems.

At ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´, ongoing research focuses on the techno-economic feasibility study and optimization of energy flow in V2B/B2V system, including the effort of utilizing a renewable energy-integrated microgrid experimental setup to validate the optimization algorithm for V2B/B2V. These efforts aim to demonstrate how V2B and B2V can operate reliably in real buildings under local grid and tariff conditions.

V2B/B2V also strongly aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, by improving energy efficiency and enabling higher use of renewable energy. They also contribute to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) through smarter urban energy systems, and SDG 13 (Climate Action) by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Professor Dr Ker Pin Jern
School of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology
Email: @email