EV Battery Energy to Alleviate Power Outage Effects

DETROIT – General Motors introduced to two new services – Ultium Home and Ultium Commercial. The company said that under a new business entity called “GM Energy,” the services will be combined with Ultium Charge 360 to create additional energy management products and services.

Some features for EV customers include bi-directional charging, vehicle-to-home (V2H), vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications, stationary storage, solar products software applications cloud management tools, microgrid solutions, hydrogen fuel cells and more.

Energy from EV and stationary storage batteries will also be able to be sold back to utilities during “peak, high energy consumption periods,” said GM. In doing so, the company said this could limit the effects of power outages and provide customers with less costly energy management.

Travis Hester, vice president of GM EV growth operations, said the U.S. electrical power grid reliability has never been more important.

“GM Energy had the opportunity to help deliver sustainable energy products and services that can help mitigate the effect of power outages and provide customers with resilient and cost-effective energy management,” he said.

GM’s Energy Services Cloud will be the company’s “central interface,” said GM. This will hold data and energy management tools to connect customers to residential, fleet and commercial energy assets.

Energy consumption management will be available through installed software applications. GM said it has already enrolled EV customers in managed charging programs through the Energy Services Cloud with utilities within four states.

An additional agreement with SunPower, a leading solar technology and energy services provider, has been made to develop a home energy system consisting of integrated EV and battery solutions, solar panels and home energy storage.

GM says a primary feature of the system is expected to be able to enable drivers to deliver power to homes with the battery inside their electric vehicle. The intention is to allow for powering homes during blackouts and draw from stored energy during peak rate times.

“SunPower will also become a preferred installer for the home energy system and offer customers the opportunity to add solar to their home,” said GM.

The company said the home energy system would launch alongside the launch of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV, which is projected to launch next fall.

An initiative between GM Energy and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is also expected to begin in 2023. The companies plan to enable residential customers to also use compatible EVs with bi-directional chargers to operate as a back up power source during short-term outages.

The project is a pilot project for V2H. The plan is to expand V2H offerings to a subset of residential customers with PG&E’s service area following the initial lab tests.

GM said they are working with several other companies to deliver energy solutions, including Con Edison, Graniterock and New Hampshire Electric Cooperative.

“GM Energy’s mission is to offer customers access to a full suite of energy products and services, including solutions beyond the vehicle, accelerating the seamless transition to an all-electric future,” said Hester.

“With the energy expansion of our enterprise business through GM Energy and on of the most comprehensive portfolios of energy management products and services available, we will help reduce the barriers of entry for sustainable power and further accelerate the mass adoption of EVs,” he added.

GM said Ultium Charge 360 would continue to expand its portfolio of integrated public charging networks, mobile apps and additional products and services.

Mark Bole, vice president and head of V2X Battery Solutions at GM, said GM Energy would help solve current grid challenges.

“By leveraging GM’s flexible technology platforms and the power of Ultium, we’re able to provide resilient and accessible energy solutions for all customers and the grid, helping to further advance the all-electric future,” he said.

Source: General Motors

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.