Friday 11 March 2022

GM and PG&E to pilot EVs as backup power sources for homes

General Motors (GM) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) are collaborating to pilot the use of electric vehicles (EVs) as backup power sources for household customers in California.

The companies will test GM vehicles with bidirectional charging technology that can power the essential needs of homes in PG&E's service area, with the first vehicle-to-home capable EV and charger to be piloted by summer 2022.

Following lab testing, they plan to pilot vehicle-to-home interconnection allowing a small number of customers' homes to receive power from the EV when electricity stops flowing from the grid.

Through the demonstration, the companies aim to develop a user-friendly vehicle-to-home customer experience for the technology, with plans to start larger customer trials by the end of 2022.

Passenger vehicles alone account for nearly 29% of California's total emissions.

The project supports the state's goal of ensuring 100% of sales of new passenger cars and trucks have zero emissions by 2035.

Patti Poppe, CEO of PG&E Corporation said: “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.”