Austrian Post: This project shows the potential of our infrastructure
Österreichische Post AG, EVN and Netz Niederösterreich are testing bidirectional charging of electric vehicles (Vehicle-to-Grid, V2G) for the first time in Mautern an der Donau. In the test, five Maxus electric vehicles are not only charged at ZAPe wallboxes at PEET GmbH, but can also feed electricity into the public grid.
In combination with the photovoltaic system on the roof of the postal base in Mautern an der Donau, the electricity generated during the day is stored in the batteries of the electric vehicles during the vehicles’ idle times – for example in the afternoon or at weekends – and released again at a later date. Swiss Post’s electric vehicles thus act as a large, bundled electricity storage system.
Since the framework conditions for bidirectional charging in Austria are still lacking, the project partners are breaking new ground in terms of regulation and technology. Netz Niederösterreich and EVN are using the pilot test together with Swiss Post to gain concrete practical experience and to develop possible future standards for the energy grid.
Peter Umundum, Deputy Director General, Member of the Management Board for Parcel & Logistics, Österreichische Post AG: “Bidirectional charging is a possible next step: If the practical test succeeds, our e-fleet could become a decentralized storage system. We already operate over 6,000 electric vehicles, more than 20 megawatt peak photovoltaics and a dense network of charging points throughout Austria. This project shows the potential of our infrastructure, for the postal service and for the energy transition in Austria.”
Stefan Stallinger, Chief Technology Officer, EVN: “We need bidirectional charging in order to integrate electric vehicles into the energy system even more intelligently in the future and to provide valuable flexibility. Together with Swiss Post, we are taking an innovative step to test this technology in practice – and we are very pleased about the strong and constructive cooperation in this pilot project.”
LONG-TERM VISION: SWISS POST’S E-VEHICLES AS LARGE-SCALE STORAGE SYSTEMS
As Austria’s largest e-fleet operator, Swiss Post offers ideal conditions for intelligent charging strategies. In the future, electric vehicles will be able to be charged preferentially when electricity is cheap and sufficiently available on the market. Since the delivery fleet usually parks at the charging stations of the delivery bases from the afternoon to the next morning, there is considerable potential for shifting charging processes.
From today’s perspective, bidirectional charging will be possible in Austria from the beginning of 2027. This technology also has the advantage that the electric vehicles can feed stored electricity back into the grid – or electricity generated by means of photovoltaics – at economically optimal times. This flexibility can be used to relieve the grid in the event of bottlenecks, to cap load peaks (peak shaving) or to increase the self-consumption of photovoltaic systems, which would ultimately relieve the public power grid.
