If you could monetize your electric vehicle while it’s parked, would that help motivate you to choose electric over gas the next time you buy a car?
The US company Fermata Energy is banking on the idea that vehicle-to-grid technology will accelerate the trend to zero emission mobility.
For those of you new to the topic, vehicle-to-grid refers to the idea that electric vehicles are really nothing more than tricked out mobile energy storage devices. Once you charge them up, you can use that electricity anywhere you go.
Grid stakeholders are also looking at electric vehicles as a platform for grid services, which basically means they will pay you to store energy in your vehicle.
That means you can charge up your electric vehicle even if you don’t plan on going anywhere, and cash in whenever your grid operator needs some extra kilowatts.
So, why hasn’t anybody thought of this before? The answer is they have. Commercial V2G systems are starting to emerge in the EU, where a recent study indicates a big payoff for V2G technology.
Getting V2G systems up and running on a mass scale is not as simple as plugging your electric vehicle into a socket.
To do vehicle-to-grid you need three things: a bidirectional vehicle, a bidirectional charger, and software that enables you to monetize the system.
Fermata will be bringing the first UL-approved charger to the market this spring. It’s 25 kw bidirectional DC fast charger. It’s off-board, so one will not have to modify the vehicle. The system is designed to enable interoperability between car, charger, and grid monetization. The software enables the aggregation of vehicles and chargers.
Reference- Fermata website, Clean Technica