GM Energy Announces Native Vehicle-to-Grid Support

­Electrifying the entire – or most of – the automotive fleet requires a number of factors working in concert. Obviously, a number of affordable EVs with high-density batteries, but also the accompanying infrastructure, ample education, and quite possibly, a huge number of EVs with bi-directional charging. GM is banking on the latter.

The automotive goliath recently announced that GM Energy products now support vehicle-to-grid (V2G) (along with the customary vehicle-to-home), with 250,000 EVs already on the road that support bi-directional charging.

I won’t explain bi-directional charging in detail – PSD’s audience likely knows more about it than I do – but what’s interesting is that GM has already secured the assistance of utilities partners PG&E in California and DTE Energy in Michigan.

“I’m here to say, to set the record straight, our grid desperately needs EVs, particularly bi-directional EVs that we can optimize and contribute to the grid,” PG&E CEO Patti Poppe said.

Indeed, the benefits could shift the entire energy paradigm.

If PG&E and GM’s plan of introducing 52,000 bi-directional-ready vehicles to the utility’s operating area occurs by 2030, the accumulated energy could allegedly power every home in San Francisco for half a day (to say nothing of a potential hedge against frequent blackouts).

Of course, to truly make a difference, every automaker and battery OEMs (plus utilities) need to abide by the ISO 15118-20 plug-and-charge standard and enable native V2G. But the savings are just waiting to be realized.

“So we’re seeing every gigawatt that we can add to the grid will lower everybody’s rates 1 percent,” Poppe said.