Your Car Pays You: China's V2G Revolution

Welcome back to Learn English with Podcasts! Sarah, what if charging your car costs nothing, and your car actually pays you?欢迎回到 Learn English with Podcasts！Sarah，如果给车充电不用花钱，你的车反而给你钱，你信吗？

In Beijing, it is real. At noon, at a V2G station in Xicheng, a driver named Mr. Li was just resting in his car. He plugs in, and the app does everything.在北京，这是真的。中午，在西城的一座 V2G 示范站，李先生就在车里休息。他插上充电枪，手机 App 会搞定一切。

Good question. V2G means vehicle-to-grid. Power can go two ways. Into your car, and back out from your car to the city power grid.问得好。V2G 就是车网互动。电可以双向流动。流进你的车，也能从你的车流回城市电网。

Exactly. And the price is different at different times. At night, from 22:00 to 7:00, charging is super cheap, only 0.3349 yuan per kWh.没错。而且不同时段价格不同。晚上 10 点到早上 7 点，充电超级便宜，只要 0.3349 元一度电。

During the day, from 10:00 to 15:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00, you can sell power back. You earn 0.7 to 1.3 yuan per kWh. The difference is 0.4 to 1 yuan.白天，从 10 点到 15 点，还有 18 点到 21 点，你可以把电卖回去。能赚 0.7 到 1.3 元一度。差价有 0.4 到 1 元。

That is what Mr. Li said. With that price difference, he does not pay for charging anymore. He even makes extra money.李先生就是这么说的。靠这个差价，他充电不再花钱。还能多赚一笔。

The system thinks about that. You set it in the app, then forget it. It keeps the battery between 20% and 95%. Your trip is safe, and the grid gets help.系统会考虑这个。你在 App 里设好，就不用管了。它把电量保持在 20% 到 95% 之间。你出行没问题，还能帮电网。

Because there are so many cars now. In the first eight months of this year, China sold 10.65 million new energy cars. Now almost 50 million are on the road.因为现在车太多了。今年前八个月，中国卖了 1065 万辆新能源车。现在路上有将近 5000 万辆。

And by 2030, it may pass 120 million. All these cars need power. By July, China had 23.683 million charging points, up 41.9% in one year.到 2030 年，可能超过 1.2 亿辆。这些车都要用电。到 7 月底，中国有 2368.3 万个充电设施，一年增长了 41.9%。

Big pressure. Public chargers alone can use 255 million kW. That equals about 11 Three Gorges dams running at full power.压力很大。光公共充电桩额定功率就有 2.55 亿千瓦。相当于约 11 个三峡水电站满负荷运行。

So the new plan says, do not just build more power plants. Use the cars we already have. Turn them into helpers for the grid.所以新规划说，别只建更多电厂。用好已有的车。把它们变成电网的帮手。

Yes. It wants faster V2G growth, and a business model that lasts. Another plan says by 2030, flexible charging from cars should reach 50 million kW, up from 10 million kW in 2025.对。它要求加快车网互动规模化应用，探索能持续的商业模式。另一个规划说，到 2030 年，车网互动聚合可调充电规模要达到 5000 万千瓦，2025 年是 1000 万千瓦。

Right. And State Grid did the math. If only 10% of EVs join V2G by 2030, they can offer 86 million kW. That is more than all pumped-storage stations in China combined.对。国家电网算过，到 2030 年如果只有 10% 的新能源车参与，就能提供 8600 万千瓦调节能力。超过全国所有抽水蓄能电站的总和。

Parked cars are the key. Most private cars sit still all day. V2G lets them work while they wait.停着的车就是关键。大多数私家车整天停着不动。V2G 让它们等着的时候也能干活。

It is happening. V2G pilots run in 9 cities, with 32 projects. In places like parks, office areas, and homes.已经发生了。全国 9 座城市开展了 32 个试点。在园区、交通和建筑等场景落地。

Yes. In Hubei, from last August to this March, drivers made over 21,000 selling orders, with total power over 376,000 kWh.有。在湖北，从去年 8 月到今年 3 月，累计有效放电订单超 2.1 万次，放电量超 37.6 万千瓦时。

In Guangzhou, on May 28, 76 stations and 492 chargers joined one event. In one day, cars sent 15,000 kWh back to the grid.在广州，5 月 28 日，76 座站点、492 台充电桩参加活动。一天里，汽车向电网反向送电 1.5 万千瓦时。

Let us do simple math. Take a car with a 70 kWh battery, about 600 km range. Daily drive of 30 to 60 km uses only 5 to 10 kWh.我们来算笔账。一辆 70 度电的车，续航约 600 公里。每天通勤 30 到 60 公里，只用 5 到 10 度电。

Exactly. If you sell 30 kWh a day with the price difference, you earn about 30 yuan a day. Do it for a month, that is about 1,000 yuan.没错。如果你每天卖 30 度电，靠峰谷差价，一天赚约 30 元。坚持一个月，就是上千元。

Many drivers ask the same. Here is the data. Most private cars charge only 50 to 100 times a year. But batteries are built for 2,000 to 3,000 cycles.很多人都这么问。看数据。大多数私家车一年只充 50 到 100 次。但动力电池设计寿命有 2000 到 3000 次。

Right. And pilots keep the battery in a healthy zone, like 20% to 80%. No deep charging, no deep use. One expert, Liu Yongdong, says that is safe for daily driving.对。而且试点把电池保持在健康区间，比如 20% 到 80%。不深充深放。专家刘永东说，这不会影响正常使用。

They are. Plus three real problems. First, chargers and cars from different brands sometimes cannot talk to each other. Second, old chargers cannot send power back, and upgrades cost money.是的。还有三个真问题。第一，不同品牌车和桩有时连不上。第二，老充电桩不能反向放电，改造要花钱。

Money rules. Drivers pay grid fees when they charge, but there is no clear discount when they sell power back. Experts say carmakers, grid companies, stations, and the government must work together.电价规则。车主充电时交了输配电费，放电时却没有相应抵扣。专家说，需要车企、电网、运营商和政府多方协同。

Well said. One researcher, Li Kang, suggests three steps. More pilots, some subsidies to invite drivers in, and better standards. Then try carbon trading for clean charging.说得好。研究员李康建议三步。扩大试点，用补贴吸引车主，完善标准。再探索消纳清洁能源、参与碳交易的模式。

Yes, a surprise. Professor Ouyang Minggao says if power and pulse speed are controlled well, two-way pulses can make lithium spread more evenly. It may even protect the battery and help in cold weather.有，意外惊喜。欧阳明高院士说，如果把倍率和脉冲频率控制好，双向脉冲能让锂分布更均匀。甚至能保护电池、改善低温性能。

That is the change. The car turns from a load into an asset. From something that uses power into something that saves and earns.这就是变化。车从负荷变成了资产。从只用电的东西，变成能存电、能赚钱的东西。

Thanks for listening to Learn English with Podcasts. Share this episode with that friend who always worries about charging fees.感谢收听 Learn English with Podcasts。把这期分享给那个总担心充电费的朋友吧。