Still charging your EV like it is 2018? That is the energy equivalent of filling a Ferrari with lawnmower fuel. In 2025, Hyundai and Kia are flipping the script with Korea’s first customer Vehicle-to-Grid and Vehicle-to-Home pilot on Jeju, signaling that bidirectional EV charging is finally leaving the lab and entering everyday life.

What problem is this solving?

EV owners hate paying peak prices and sitting on unused battery capacity. Utilities hate peak spikes and underused renewable generation. Solar owners hate exporting cheap at noon and buying expensive at night. V2G and V2H turn your EV into a flexible asset that can soak up cheap, clean energy and sell or share it when the grid or your home needs it most.

Hyundai and Kia’s Jeju pilot: from promise to practice

Hyundai Motor Group and Kia have launched Korea’s first customer-facing V2G and V2H pilot on Jeju. Using models like the Kia EV9 and Hyundai’s newest large EVs, the program will charge cars when renewable output is high and discharge back during peaks to stabilize the island’s wind and solar-heavy grid. Partners include KEPCO for grid linkage and Hyundai Engineering for service analysis and scaling plans, with a focus on real-world operations rather than controlled demos, as reported in Chosun Biz and summarized by ElectricCarsReport.

V2G vs V2H in plain English

• V2G - your EV exports to the grid to earn revenue and help balance supply and demand.
• V2H - your EV powers your home, typically during outages or peak-price windows, acting like a mobile battery.

Hyundai and Kia’s services aim to do both, aligning charging with renewables and providing backup and bill optimization, according to coverage of their global energy services expansion here.

What hardware and standards will you need?

• Bidirectional-capable EVSE and vehicle firmware - safety and communications are essential. UL 9741 defines the safety requirements for bidirectional EV chargers, as noted in this standard.
• ISO 15118-20 communications - the backbone for bidirectional power transfer, Plug and Charge, and secure EV-to-charger messaging, as defined in this standard.
• Connector ecosystem - CCS is the path forward for mainstream bidirectional in Europe and the US, with industry alignment described in CharIN’s position, summarized in this paper. CHAdeMO has been used for early V2G pilots, especially with the Nissan Leaf, as noted in this UK trial and this overview.

For installers, that translates to certified bidirectional DC chargers, ISO 15118-20 support, and utility-approved interconnection. For EV owners, it means compatible models and opting into programs that automate when and how your car shares energy.

Show me the money: savings and grid-services revenue

• Bill savings - UK Powerloop participants using Nissan Leafs and CHAdeMO saw up to £180 per year versus smart charging and up to £840 versus standard tariffs, as documented in this trial.
• Grid-services revenue - NREL’s review estimates $100 to $1,000+ per vehicle per year depending on market, service type, and battery costs. Frequency regulation and peak shaving tend to pay the most, as discussed in this study.

Real-world outcomes depend heavily on your tariff, local market rules, charger efficiency, and how often you participate. Hyundai and Kia’s Jeju pilot is designed to harvest these values at scale by syncing EVs with renewables and grid signals.

What about battery health?

Battery wear is the elephant in the garage. The good news: controlled, shallow cycling for V2G/V2H typically adds a modest amount of degradation compared to normal driving and charging. Recurrent’s analysis of V2X impacts suggests small increases that are often less than normal fleet variability, as noted in this report. Peer-reviewed work has found measurable but manageable added wear in V2X scenarios, with careful charge windows and temperature management mitigating the impact, as shown in this study. Some field reviews even report reduced degradation when V2G is used to keep batteries within an optimal state-of-charge band, as discussed in this overview.

Translation: set sane limits, avoid deep cycles, and let the algorithm do the heavy lifting.

Utilities and regulators: what is changing

Regulators are building the pipes for EV energy services. In California, state agencies have published vehicle-grid integration roadmaps and are running proceedings to pilot managed charging and V2G compensation. For a policy snapshot, see the California Energy Commission’s materials on VGI, including this document. In the UK, system operators and retailers have supported V2G trials and are moving toward scalable programs, with trial insights captured by Octopus and other partners in this summary and sector updates like this report.

Rollout: where bidirectional goes next

Hyundai and Kia are signaling expansions across Europe and the US as more models gain V2H and V2G capability, according to industry coverage in this article and this roundup. Expect CCS-based bidirectional to show up in new EVs and home energy ecosystems that combine solar, stationary storage, and EV batteries under one app.

Prep checklist: owners, installers, utilities

• EV owners - confirm your model’s V2G/V2H capability, enroll in the pilot or your utility’s program, and set battery limits that prioritize daily driving needs.
• Installers - choose UL 9741 certified bidirectional chargers, verify ISO 15118-20 support, and coordinate interconnection with utilities.
• Utilities - align tariffs and market rules to pay for grid services, streamline interconnections, and integrate EVs into demand response and frequency regulation portfolios.

The bottom line

Hyundai and Kia’s Jeju pilot is the clearest sign yet that V2G and V2H are crossing the chasm. With ISO 15118-20, CCS, and utility programs finally converging, your next EV will not just drive. It will power your home and help stabilize the grid.

Further reading

• ISO 15118-20 summary and context, as outlined in this standard and an ecosystem overview in this explainer.
• Demonstrations of ISO 15118-20 bidirectional charging, captured in this proceedings paper.
• Industry alignment on CCS bidirectional, summarized in this position paper.