Electric Vehicles (EVs) now function as both energy consumers and producers within the energy internet-enabled smart grid, enabling bidirectional energy exchange with the grid. To facilitate secure Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) communication, mutual authentication between EVs and charging stations (CSs) over open wireless channels is crucial. While several authentication schemes have been proposed, most are vulnerable to post-quantum threats. To address this gap, this article presents an efficient lattice-based lightweight authentication protocol specifically designed for V2G communication. The protocol’s security is rigorously validated through formal analysis and formal security verification using an automated verification tool, known as the Automated Validation of Internet Security Protocols and Applications (AVISPA) tool. Additionally, an informal security analysis is performed to evaluate resilience against practical attacks. Moreover, comprehensive performance simulations confirm the protocol’s efficiency and feasibility for real-world V2G communication.
