General Motors announced that it is going to test bidirectional charging technology, in collaboration with California’s Utility company, PG&E. The test will include a pilot using the vehicle as an on-demand power source for homes and other PG&E areas. This pilot project will be introduced later this year, with an initial focus on EV’s vehicle-to-home compatibility.
The company stated that the pilot project will be introduced later this year and will initially focus on testing the EV’s vehicle-to-home compatibility. They will also focus on the home chargers, which will come with a transfer switch to accept the current.
The pilot project is said to have 3 phases, the first being the lab tests conducted by GM and PG&E. Following this, a small group of PG&E customers will be able to test the bidirectional charging connection at their own homes. In this phase, PG&E will initiate controlled power outages when the car is connected. Finally, the third phase trial, which will include a larger test group, is expected by end of 2022. While the technology aims to allow customers to use their EVs to power their homes in the event of an outage, PG&E hopes that in the future, EVs will be able to stabilize the grid during a high-demand period.
Interconnection of homes
Multiple GM electric vehicles will take part in the pilot, although the automaker did not nominate any model. Following lab testing, PG&E and GM plan to test vehicle-to-home interconnection allowing a small group of customers’ homes to receive power from the EV when the electric grid stops supplying power.
Patti Poppe, PG&E Corporation CEO stated, “We are really excited about this innovative collaboration with GM. Imagine a future where everyone is driving an electric vehicle—and where that EV serves as a backup power option at home and more broadly as a resource for the grid. Not only is this a huge advancement for electric reliability and climate resiliency, it’s yet another advantage of clean-powered EVs, which are so important in our collective battle against climate change.”
By the end of 2025, GM will have more than 1 million units of EV capacity in North America, according to the company’s projections. GM says this will be made possible by the Ultium Platform, with the combined EV architecture and propulsion system to enable EVs at scale for every lifestyle and price point. Mary Barra, GM Chair and CEO said, “GM’s collaboration with PG&E further expands our electrification strategy, demonstrating our EVs as reliable mobile sources of power. Our teams are working to rapidly scale this pilot and bring bidirectional charging technology to our customers.”
