Study Shows Electrified Cities Could Become Giant Batteries

Study shows electrified cities could become giant batteries

Our electric vehicles (EVs) and hot water systems could become powerful assets for the electricity grid and help turn Australian cities into giant batteries, new research from The Australian National University (ANU) has found.

How Electric Vehicles and Water Heaters are turning Cities into giant Batteries

By Bin Lu, Australian National University and Marnie Shaw, Australian National University (The Conversation) – As the electrification of transport and heating accelerates, many worry the increased demand could overload national power grids. In Australia, electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050. If everyone charges their car and heats water using electric systems at the same time, peak demand could rise sharply, forcing costly grid …

How EVs and electric water heaters are turning cities into giant batteries

Leonid Andronov/ShutterstockAs the electrification of transport and heating accelerates, many worry the increased demand could overload national power grids. In Australia, electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050. If everyone charges their car and heats water using electric systems at the same time, peak demand could rise sharply, forcing costly grid upgrades. But this would only happen if there’s no planning done. The shift to elec…

Electrified cities could become giant batteries: ANU study

22.07.2025 - Our electric vehicles (EVs) and hot water systems could become powerful assets for the electricity grid and help turn Australian cities into giant batteries, new research from The Australian National University (ANU) has found.

EVs and electric hot water can transform cities into “giant batteries” to slash peak demand

Electric homes and vehicles can help turn Australian cities into "giant batteries," study finds, with each resident owning around three Tesla Powerwalls-worth of flexible storage capacity.

How EVs and electric water heaters are turning our cities into giant batteries

By Bin Lu, Senior Research Fellow in Renewable Energy, Australian National University and Marnie Shaw, Associate Professor in Engineering, Australian National University As the electrification of transport and heating accelerates, many worry the increased demand could overload national power grids. In Australia, electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050. If everyone charges their car and heats water using electric systems at the same…