BMW of North America has announced a partnership with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to see how vehicle-to-everything technology can help to offset growing demand on the power grid.
The collaboration is assessing how a home in California could maximize its renewable energy usage by switching between power stored in an EV’s battery and grid-provided renewable energy. The EV could charge when the renewable energy on the grid is highest and then be discharged throughout the day to support a household’s needs.
BMW says that an EV connected to a home can provide roughly double the amount of renewable energy that a typical California home would use on an average day.
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Tests are currently being conducted at PG&E’s Applied Technology Services (ATS) Lab in San Ramon and the partnership expands on the company’s ChargeForward smart charging program where PG&E customers who own a BMW EV are offered incentives to align vehicle charging with renewable energy to support the sustainability of the grid. BMW notes that V2X technology could enable customers to use their vehicle as backup home generators when needed.
“Electric grid sustainability is becoming an increasingly complex challenge across the U.S.,” BMW of North America vice president of engineering, Adam McNeill stated. “That’s why we started our ChargeForward program in 2015, to connect our vehicles, our customers, and the grid. V2X takes smart charging to the next level, exploring how EV batteries can be used for backup generation and other grid services. We’re excited to continue pursuing additional customer benefits while helping make the grid more dependable and sustainable.”
The car manufacturer says that V2X technology will allow EV owners to return excess stored energy from their vehicle batteries back to the grid in exchange for compensation. It also believes that V2X technology can play an important role in increasing the amount of greenhouse gas-free resources powering the grid.
“The utility and automotive industries are creating a transformative clean energy future together,” added PG&E vice president of Utility Partnerships and Innovation, Aaron August. “At PG&E we are working with partners like BMW to unleash the full potential of EVs to enhance grid resilience and reliability for our customers, while reducing carbon emissions in our hometowns.”
