Electric car-ready homes will help firm up the power grid, Ed Husic says

Governments urged to plan for emerging technologies that will allow bidirectional charging so vehicle batteries can power homes

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Australia's first mandate to make new apartment buildings electric vehicle-ready" should be extended to all new housing, potentially turning entire suburbs into virtual batteries supporting the power grid, the federal science minister said.

Ed Husic helped helm Friday's gathering of federal, state and territory building ministers in Sydney, where it was agreed to amend the national construction code to require new apartment blocks to be capable of charging cars in all their parking spots.

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