Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure could turn airport car parks into strategic energy assets, according to EV charging company Zaptec.
The move would assist operators cut energy costs, boost resilience and support a more stable grid, as UK airports and transport hubs increasingly roll out EV charging infrastructure, Zaptec added.
It believes there is a “growing opportunity to go beyond simple driver convenience and use airport car parks to support future-ready energy systems and help balance the grid”.
Zaptec has already undertaken major EV charging deployments across the Nordics, and at Oslo Airport Gardermoen, provides charging across hundreds of parking bays – with advanced load and phase balancing and MID-compliant metering.
Its system charging architecture is designed so that V2G functionality can be integrated as V2G-capable vehicles and market frameworks mature, which can turn sites into a flexible energy resource over time.
By acting as a distributed energy reserve, V2G-enabled EV charging infrastructure offers airports and other transport hubs the ability to use stored energy in parked vehicles to support their own systems at critical times, or export energy back to the grid when it is most valuable.
This can help reduce peak demand charges, provide flexibility services and improve overall operational resilience, the company said.
Designing airport EV charging infrastructure with smart load management and future V2G integration in mind from day one will “allow operators to treat car parks as flexible energy assets, accelerating low-carbon infrastructure, supporting sustainability targets and ultimately advancing their net zero goals”, it concluded.
Michael Braybrook, UK Managing Director at Zaptec, said:
“With hundreds of connected EVs and their in-built batteries on site, airport car parks can become much more than somewhere to leave your car. EV charging infrastructure is more than just an amenity. As airports worldwide explore pathways to net zero, smart charging can play a core role in building future-ready, resilient energy systems, not just offering a plug, but actively helping airports manage demand, cut costs and support the wider grid.”
“V2G capability could be critical in maintaining essential energy services such as lighting, communications and safety systems in the event of a power disruption, similar to the outage experienced at Heathrow Airport in March 2025. At the same time, travellers still get what they expect, cars automatically charged and waiting for them when they get back from their trip.”
Image courtesy of Zaptec
