Could electric vehicles one day generate power for the grid? Nissan recently launched a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) pilot to power Silicon Valley’s electricity infrastructure.
Portable Power Stations
The pilot is being implemented in partnership with ChargeScape, a joint initiative based in New York City owned by BMW, Ford, and Honda. The project, which is backed by the California Energy Commission’s Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) program Option 3, focuses on integrating EVs into the power grid, as demand is rising due to the implementation of AI-driven data centers.
“Through this collaboration, we’re showcasing how electric vehicles can reinforce our communities’ electrical needs and deliver meaningful benefits to drivers,” Rich Miller, Nissan US’s vice president of vehicle connected services.
The new solution is designed to increase both power supply and grid reliability for customers. Energy stored in EV batteries from Nissan’s electric vehicles will be used at the company’s Advanced Technology Center in Silicon Valley. Fermata Energy’s bidirectional chargers will manage the discharge of that energy back to the grid during periods of high demand.
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“At Fermata Energy, we are demonstrating how AI-enabled V2X optimization can transform electric vehicles into intelligent grid resources,” Hamza Lemsaddek, Fermata Energy CEO, stated in a press release.
According to Interesting Engineering, ChargeScape will work alongside market partner Leap to discharge power from Nissan vehicles and free up capacity for data center loads. Participating EV drivers will earn money for helping the power grid through this and other Chargescape programs.
“Integrating Nissan’s EV batteries into Silicon Valley Power’s grid is a crucial first step to shoring up long-term grid reliability and rewarding the EV drivers who are part of the solution,” stated Joseph Vellone, CEO of ChargeScape.
“Activating these vehicles as flexible, dispatchable grid resources is a game-changing tool to help utilities manage higher loads and unlock economic growth while putting dollars back in the hands of ratepayers,” stated Jason Michaels, CEO of Leap.
“We look forward to expanding our partnership with ChargeScape to serve more communities,” Michaels concluded.
