I was recently able to chat with Martin Roemheld, Head of Charging at @Volkswagen @VWGroup, about bidirectional charging. My article is in German, but I would like to share some of the things I learned in English. A thread. (10) https://nzzas.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/vw-autobatterie-wird-zum-speicher-ld.1579871?mktcid=smsh&mktcval=Twitter via @NZZaS

1/10 Why is Volkswagen working on bidirectional charging? "The battery is the most valuable part of the electric car. We also guarantee it," says Roemheld. If the battery is charged and discharged unprofessionally, it could suffer.

2/10 Another reason: to earn money. Roemheld states clearly though: The charging and discharging of e-cars “will only make up a small part of our business model in the long term.”

3/10 Bidirectional charging makes the BEV more economical and ecological. Roemheld believes that car batteries will make up a "highly relevant part" in the short-term storage of green electricity. "The e-car can thus make a further contribution to climate protection".

4/10 According to Roemheld, each day an average of 40 kilometers is covered by car, for which 7-8 kilowatt hours of electricity are consumed. "But today the batteries can hold 50-90 kilowatt hours.”…

5/10 … And here's another advantage: "Large batteries are often a luxury today. But if the battery is also used as an energy storage device , then the purchase of cars with a high battery capacity will suddenly make sense from an economic and ecological point of view.”

6/10 But will the consumer give up the freedom to use his car at any time of the day? Yes, thinks Roemheld. If you want to go to the cinema on short notice, “another vehicle will take over from the ever-growing pool of battery cars".

7/10 Intelligent control systems can calculate how many vehicles are likely to be taken off the grid at short notice in the evening - and provide an appropriate safety margin.

8/10 By 2030, the Volkswagen Group wants to have around 26 million electric cars on the street worldwide.

9/10 Roemheld did not disclose specific targets for the vehicle-to-grid-technology. “My wish is that half of the vehicles we deliver in ten years' time will have the ability to charge bidirectionally," he just says.

10/10 This might interest @MLiebreich @AukeHoekstra @hanseric @technikblog_ch @gnievchenko @solar_chase @ceo_plus_ch @Touni @colinmckerrache @brunncy

11/10 By the way, all of you are making Twitter worthwhile for me. Even though I stare way too much into my cell phone because of you people.