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Electric vehicles will be power plants on wheels, providing backup power for homes and the grid



Year 2024
Chevy The Silverado EV will offer two-way charging that can power homes and the grid.
Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

  • Electric vehicles in the coming years will be capable of powering homes and the grid.
  • Auto and utility manufacturers are experimenting with so-called two-way charging, or V2H AND V2G, technology.
  • Back-up power from electric vehicles can help during storms and support grids strained by inclement weather.

In the not too distant future, many tram can be mini power plant on wheels.

Synthetic engine announced this week that it is heading in that direction. A new business unit, GM Energy, there is a line of electric vehicle chargers that can also power the home and the grid. Experts call it bidirectional charging.

The Chevy Silverado EV, slated to go on sale in the fall of 2023, will have this capability. GM is also planning a pilot project with California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Company next year that will allow a small fraction of residents to use the new charger and have backup power for a while. blackouts, which are on the rise amid increasing heat waves and wildfires. Finally, electric vehicle owners can sell energy stored in the battery to the grid and get paid.

Paul Doherty, a spokesman for PG&E, told Insider: “We’re at a transformative time in the relationship between the utility and auto industries. “There is value in EV batteries: supporting the grid, acting as a backup power source for your home, and reducing greenhouse gases as well. emissions. “

Doherty says PG&E is considering piloting with other automakers, including Ford and Tesla, to test what he calls “managed charging”. In an ideal world, electric vehicles would discharge energy into the grid during peak demand hours from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and charge outside that window when solar energy is abundant and cheap, he said.

Mark Bole, GM’s head of V2X, or vehicle-for-everything and battery solutions, says such a scenario is not far off. GM Energy has a cloud-based tool that manages charging and energy data, can connect to utilities and alert customers via a mobile app when it’s needed. In addition to PG&E, the automaker is also working with utility companies like New York’s Con Edison and the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative.

GM Energy has also entered into a partnership with SunPower, a large US residential solar installation company, which will provide customers with a home energy system consisting of solar panels and a storage unit. fixed battery energy storage. It’s not like Ford partnership announced with Sunrun last year.

The Ford F-150 Lightning also features two-way charging, which proved useful after Hurricane Ian hit the southwest Florida power grid. Ford CEO Jim Farley tweeted that yes 127% increase in the number of people using their trucks as a source of electricity to run lights, refrigerators and smart devices. However, some EV ignite when salt water corrodes their lithium-ion batteries.

It’s still early days, but Sunil Chhaya, a senior technical expert at the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute, said that within the next five years he expects all electric vehicles to have this bidirectional capability. At this point, it’s unclear whether consumers and businesses will buy in, he added.

“What value does it have to the customer?” Chaya said. “The business case for someone to go to the trouble of connecting and investing in all this expensive equipment has to be clear.”

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