Octopus Energy and electric car giant BYD have teamed up to launch a new offering for EV drivers that’s designed to make electric motoring cheaper and smarter. Called the Power Pack Bundle, it’s the UK’s first commercial vehicle-to-grid (V2G) package—and it will be on the road from this autumn.
The bundle is made up of three key components: a leased BYD Dolphin electric car, a V2G-enabled Zaptec Pro charger, and a smart tariff from Octopus Energy. When combined, they create a setup that doesn’t just allow you to charge your car—it lets your car return energy to the grid, too.
Priced at £299 per month, the package includes everything drivers need to get started with V2G at home.
That’s the central idea behind V2G tech. When the grid is under pressure, your EV can send power back into it. When demand drops, it charges back up. This kind of two-way energy flow helps reduce reliance on fossil fuel power plants and supports the wider shift to cleaner energy.
To make the most of the deal, drivers will need to plug in 20 times a month for at least 12 hours at a time. That means it might not suit every lifestyle—especially for those who can’t regularly leave their car parked overnight. But for those it does work for, the savings can be substantial.
By letting Octopus’s Kraken tech manage the charge and discharge cycles automatically, drivers can power all the miles included in their lease at no additional cost. Compared to charging on a standard energy tariff, they reckon that’s an annual saving of around £620 —and potentially up to £1,000 when compared with running a petrol or diesel car.
This marks the first time a commercial V2G bundle has been offered in the UK. It’s been made possible by pairing a car with built-in bidirectional charging capabilities—like the BYD Dolphin—with software that can manage energy flows to and from the grid.
Octopus and BYD have also partnered with Motability to make the V2G technology available to disabled people across the UK.
It’s still early days for vehicle-to-grid adoption, but this launch is a step toward bringing the tech into everyday life. As more V2G-ready EVs enter the market, the potential for cars to support the wider energy system is only set to grow. Cars from Volkswagen Group like the VW ID.Buzz and ID.3 along with models from Renault, like the Renault 5 are already equipped with V2G technology and will offer similar technology tie ups down the line.
