Last week, General Motors (NYSE: GM) announced that it would be partnering with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to test the use of electric cars in powering a home during an outage. The programs come at a time that climate change is driving conversations on energy efficiency as more companies invest into battery electric vehicles (“BEVs”). The test is expected to take place by this summer in northern and central California.
Last year, GM announced that it would phase out the production of diesel- and gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 as the company continues to grow its focus on EVs. According to Pattie Poppe, CEO of PG&E, this program advances electric dependability, which is important in fighting climate change.
Bidirectional charging is the most important point of the initiative. This is the type of EV charging that goes in both directions. Therefore, an EV owner can plug in their car in the charger and pull power from the battery and supply it to a house.
In its basic form, this initiative will allow a car to act as a backup power system to a house during a power outage. At a more technical level, this initiative can create a big backup battery for the grid when an assembly of electric vehicles is interconnected together. This approach is innovative since the American grid system is aging while dealing with climate change.
The limitation of this project is that it is only possible for drivers who are homeowners. In the case of a blackout, EV owners will plug their cars in their homes and provide backup power. Meanwhile, there are no viable options for public charging spots to provide power to a house or an apartment. According to Kyri Baker, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, this program is accessible to high-income residents because that market segment can afford to buy an electric car and extra equipment.
The partners are planning to allow a number of their customers the ability to power their houses with an electric vehicle once lab testing ends. According to Mary Barra, chair and CEO of GM, the team is working hard to scale its efforts in order to provide customers with bidirectional charging technology.
This move by General Motors matches that of Ford, which partnered with solar company Sunrun for a similar initiative. The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning is an electric pickup that works as a home generator by providing power for up to three days. Similarly, Lucid Group, an EV startup, has announced that its Air Sedan will have related properties.
Experts have said that the program has potential to succeed because of GM’s market share and commitment to electric vehicle production.
The way things are going, we shouldn’t be surprised when other EV sector players such as NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) bring their own twist to the electric vehicle space and the switch to green energy as the competition heats up.
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