EVs and Bidirectional Charging Come of Age with Federal “Vehicle to Everything” Plan
By Zach Woogen
"V2X” is moving from concept to reality. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a new initiative to knit bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) charging more tightly into energy grid infrastructure. “Vehicle to Everything” (V2X) strategies aim to leverage the growing number of EVs — and corresponding growth of battery energy capacity — to support the healthy functioning of the energy grid, while also reducing ownership costs for drivers and fleets. Battery capacity growth is likely to continue to expand rapidly as larger vehicles, such as school buses and other medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, transition to run on battery electric power.
Vehicle to Everything (V2X) Initiative
The new V2X initiative marks a turning point and critical next step in the necessary data collection and stakeholder convening needed to elevate V2X use cases at the federal level. V2X deployments across the nation have been ramping over the past several years, and the DOE V2X initiative will play an integral role of capturing lessons learned from these early deployments and charting a path forward. The Vehicle-Grid Integration Council (VGIC) stands ready to support the wide array of stakeholders collaborating to successfully scale V2X strategies across the U.S.
EV Charging and Discharging Benefits
VGIC believes smart EV charging and discharging can deliver a wealth of services that not only decarbonize grid operations, but also provide new value streams to EV drivers and vehicle fleet owners. These include load management, customer electric bill management, demand-response participation, and back-up power supply to homes and businesses.
V2X Memorandum of Understanding
DOE’s initiative brings together actors from across the mobility ecosystem — DOE staff, national labs, state and local governments, utilities, and technology providers — to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of V2X strategies, including identifying V2X activities and the barriers inhibiting more rapid V2X adoption. The V2X Memorandum of Understanding will be a positive step forward for the industry by further validating and elevating awareness of the V2X value proposition. Congratulations to VGIC Leadership Circle members Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Nissan Group of North America, and Nuvve Holding Corp., as well as VGIC member company Fermata Energy, for their engagement and their support of this initiative. We are pleased to partner with these leading organizations, and others, to promote the role of EVs as strategic grid resources.
Vehicle Grid Integration Strategies
Implementing vehicle-grid integration (VGI) strategies at scale has gained added momentum via the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) passed last November. The $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program, $5 billion Clean School Bus Program, and $3 billion Smart Grid Investment Matching Grant Program provide a package of support for community charging sites, aggregating and integrating EV batteries as grid assets, and facilitating broader deployment of VGI technologies.
The VGIC team, along with Leadership Circle members Ford and Nuvve, recently held an in-depth discussion on VGI support mechanisms in the BIL, which can be accessed here.
VGIC is committed to advancing the role of electric vehicles and smart EV charging and discharging through policy development, education, outreach, and research.