Dive Brief:
Two U.S. automakers took steps this month to expand their electric vehicles’ value to the power grid and electric utility efforts to manage peak demand.
On Tuesday, Rivian became the latest automotive company to partner with ChargeScape, a vehicle-grid integration platform that supports utility managed and bidirectional charging programs across the country. Earlier this month, General Motors said it would release a firmware update that gives existing GM Energy vehicle-to-home systems full vehicle-to-grid capability with no hardware modification needed. It also announced a V2G partnership with DTE Energy, a Michigan investor-owned utility, and additional plans with Pacific Gas & Electric.
With more than 7 million EVs on U.S. roads and expectations for significant fleet growth over the next four years, utilities increasingly see managed and bidirectional charging as important load management levers.
Dive Insight:
