How does bidirectional charging differ from “traditional” unidirectional (single directional) charging?

Unidirectional charging only sends energy one way – from the grid to the EV, making a single directional charger a constant cost center. A bidirectional charging system does more; it both charges an EV and discharges some of the energy stored in the battery to the grid or to a building. The decision whether to drive or discharge is always up to the EV fleet manager or driver.

A commercial unidirectional charging system and the Fermata Energy V2G charging platform cost about the same. However, there is a financial upside to bidirectional charging: the V2X platform enables fleet owners/operators to earn revenue from their utility or to save money on their electricity bills – potentially enough to pay for the entire bidirectional charging system.

Bidirectional charging is often referred to as V2X (vehicle-to-everything), which includes V2G (vehicle-to-grid) and V2B (vehicle-to-building) technology.