New York State has awarded more than $6 million to seven vehicle-grid integration projects aimed at improving EV charging flexibility, reducing grid costs and supporting bidirectional charging. The initiatives cover refuse trucks, wireless charging, managed charging and thermal energy storage applications.Gravity's flagship Midtown Manhattan EV charging centreImage: GravityAccording to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the selected projects aim to ‘enhance grid flexibility, shift charging to accommodate energy demand, and lower charging costs for consumers.’ The programme supports scalable projects covering product development, technology demonstrations and new business models for EV charging infrastructure. The funding comes through NYSERDA’s Vehicle Grid Integration Program and focuses on technologies including bidirectional charging, managed charging, energy storage and distributed energy systems.The largest single award, worth more than $1.6 million, went to Roundtrip EV Solutions for a bidirectional fast-charging project involving four electric refuse trucks in municipal fleets in Ulster County. Gravity received nearly $1 million to develop a bidirectional vehicle-grid integration platform in Manhattan designed to reduce charging infrastructure costs while enabling EVs to supply energy back to buildings.Energy One secured almost $1 million for a project integrating electric refrigerated trailers with building-based thermal energy storage at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in Brooklyn. New York University received more than $700,000 to develop software for coordinated planning of EV charging infrastructure and grid upgrades in New York City.Optiwatt was awarded more than $600,000 for managed charging demonstrations on Long Island that aim to balance electricity demand through active charging control. Pvilion received $500,000 to demonstrate portable solar-powered charging infrastructure for electric construction and agricultural equipment in Peekskill and Troy.Electreon Wireless secured $1 million to deploy wireless charging technology for electric shuttle vans in Buffalo. According to NYSERDA, the project aims to reduce grid interconnection costs, lower peak demand and improve operational efficiency for fleets.“NYSERDA is proud to partner with forward-thinking companies that are pushing the boundaries of vehicle-to-grid innovation and demonstrating new ways to manage and deliver energy more intelligently,” said Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA. “Advancing these technologies will help unlock greater value from electric vehicles, support a more flexible energy system, and create new opportunities to modernise how power is shared and utilised across the state.”New York State Senator Kevin Parker said the projects demonstrate how ‘government, industry, and research institutions work together to turn bold climate goals into practical action for working families across the state.’ Zach Woogen, Executive Director of the Vehicle Grid Integration Council, added that investments in managed charging and bidirectional charging ‘help unlock EVs as a critical grid resource.’nyserda.ny.gov