In continued efforts to support the growing electric vehicle (EV) segment, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced a next-generation powerline communication (PLC) device, the QCA7006AQ, designed to address the needs for electric vehicle (EV) charging station communications—also known as electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE)—that use global Combined Charging System (CCS). The PLC... Read more →

Silicon Carbide technology leader Wolfspeed, Inc. will supply 1200V Silicon Carbide MOSFETs to Rhombus Energy Solutions for its EV2flex line of charging infrastructure products, enabling greater efficiency, higher power density and faster charging times. Rhombus’ EV2flex infrastructure includes a family of products that enables fast, bi-directional charging and efficient energy... Read more →

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved $11.7 million in funding for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to develop three new pilot programs to test how bidirectional electric vehicles (EVs) and chargers can provide power to the electric grid and other benefits to customers. PG&E will test bidirectional... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and partners announced the Vehicle to Everything (V2X) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will bring together resources from DOE, DOE national labs, state and local governments, utilities, and private entities to evaluate technical and economic feasibility as we integrate bidirectional charging into energy infrastructure.... Read more →

A realistic pilot test conducted by Porsche, the grid operator TransnetBW and consulting firm Intelligent Energy System Services (IE2S), has demonstrated that electrical balancing power can be stored in the high-voltage batteries of an intelligent swarm of electric cars. Five series-production Taycan were connected to the power grid via the... Read more →

Volkswagen is rolling out ID. Software 3.0 with new functions for tis all-electric ID. models, enhancing user experience and optimizing charging capacity. By using swarm data and the most recent generation of driver assistance systems, Volkswagen is also taking the next step towards automated driving. Buyers of new cars will... Read more →

Audi of America is working with Spoke, a mobility platform for safety, connectivity, and rich rider experiences; Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.; and Commsignia to bring the benefits of cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology to vulnerable road users (VRUs) and enhance safety on roadways. Using C-V2X technology, the companies are working together by... Read more →

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Ford Motor Company announced a collaboration exploring how Ford’s new F-150 Lightning electric vehicle (EV)—the first commercially available light-duty truck with bidirectional charging technology (earlier post)—can interact with the electric grid and provide electric reliability benefits to PG&E customers. One in five EVs... Read more →

Pacific Gas and Electric Company and General Motors are collaborating to pilot the use of GM electric vehicles as on-demand power sources for homes in PG&E’s service area. G&E and GM will test vehicles with bidirectional charging technology that can help safely power the essential needs of a properly equipped... Read more →

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) company Commsignia is collaborating with Vulnerable Road User (VRU) safety experts Spoke to provide automotive-grade Cellular-V2X (C-V2X) software solutions for cyclists, motorcyclists and e-scooter riders. Spoke is building on Commsignia’s more than a decade worth of experience in V2X to connect its users to the digital road safety... Read more →

Siemens eMobility announced that it has worked with Ford on the Ford Charge Station Pro, a custom electric vehicle (EV) charger for the Ford F-150 Lightning. (Earlier post.) This innovative charger is the first bidirectional-ready EV solution set for release at retail customer scale to receive certification under the newly... Read more →

Ford is partnering with solar company Sunrun to enhance home energy management, leveraging the onboard battery capability of the all-electric F-150 Lightning. Americans experienced the most power interruptions on record in 2020, according to the US Energy Information Administration; with F-150 Lightning, homeowners can use their truck to maintain their... Read more →

BYD introduced its Type A battery-electric school bus that also offers innovative vehicle-to-grid technology, allowing the vehicle to serve as a power storage resource when it’s not transporting students. Just like our Type D bus introduced last year [earlier post], our Type A bus bi-directional charging capability is a game... Read more →

Fermata Energy, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology services provider, recently raised $40 million to accelerate the company’s growth with investment from new partners, including funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle and Verizon Ventures. The company’s V2X software technology aims to transform electric vehicles into energy-storage assets, making EV ownership more... Read more →

Honda is partnering with the V2X Suisse consortium to demonstrate the role of electric vehicles (EVs) and bi-directional charging technology in the future of energy management. Honda will supply 50 Honda e electric vehicles (earlier post) to Switzerland’s car-sharing operator, Mobility. The Honda e units will be used as part... Read more →

A team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has completed a literature review on the potential value of EV managed charging. Their findings, published in Energy & Environmental Science, provide a comprehensive look at how EVs and the grid could work together as the electric and transportation sectors become... Read more →

Wallbox, a leading provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management solutions worldwide, introduced Quasar 2, the latest generation of its bidirectional home chargers designed specifically for the North American market. As well as enabling EV owners to charge and discharge their electric vehicle to power their home or... Read more →

The available Pro Power Onboard feature enables the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning and F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid trucks to function as power sources on wheels with multiple uses. Now, Ford is adding another benefit: vehicle-to-vehicle charging using the Ford-exclusive Pro Power Onboard 240-volt outlet. When connected to an F-150 Lightning or... Read more →

Charging and energy are becoming a core business for Volkswagen; the company is building a universal and seamless eco-system for charging its electric models. The We Charge service will be enhanced step-by-step to offer higher performance, convenience and sustainability—with new charging solutions for home and mobile charging, new functions in... Read more →

Iteris, a global provider of smart mobility infrastructure management, and global mobility supplier Continental launched Vantage Fusion, a hybrid traffic detection system that enables real-world vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications and advanced intersection visualization for safer, smarter and more sustainable roadways. The Vantage Fusion hybrid video and radar detection system delivers unmatched... Read more →

Gridtractor has launched from stealth to develop charging technology, fleet electrification, and energy management services for electric tractors and heavy farm equipment. Gridtractor will help farmers integrate electric charging and vehicle to grid (V2G) into their operations to strengthen the power grid with its smart energy platform. In addition, the... Read more →

An electric school bus in Beverly, Massachusetts, successfully delivered power back to the electricity grid for more than 50 hours over the course of the summer using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. This is the first time an electric school bus has been leveraged as an energy resource by the regional utility... Read more →

BYD and Levo Mobility, a joint venture of Nuvve Holding Corp., affiliates of Stonepeak Partners LP, and Evolve Transition Infrastructure LP that provides Fleet-as-a-Service (FaaS) solutions enabling fleets to switch to electric vehicles rapidly, will partner to integrate Nuvve’s leading vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology with a mix of BYD battery electric... Read more →

A team at the University of Oregon is working to give bicyclists smoother rides by allowing them to communicate with traffic signals via a mobile app. The latest report to come out of this multi-project research effort introduces machine-learning algorithms to work with their mobile app FastTrack. Developed and tested... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz is adding additional Car-to-X functions that can detect large potholes. Large potholes are a safety hazard, because if drivers do not recognize them in time, they can no longer take evasive action or reduce their speed. There is also a risk of damage to tires and the suspension system.... Read more →

EDF, through EDF Group subsidiary DREEV, has launched a new commercial charging service using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology in the UK, in partnership with Nissan. This means businesses can support the grid by consuming low carbon energy, and progress towards their net zero and decarbonization targets, whils reducing their costs. The... Read more →

Exro Technologies is introducing a new application for its patented Coil Driver technology—enabling EVs to fast charge seamlessly and provide electricity back to the grid regardless of power source or charger type. Coil Driver is a next-generation dynamic motor controller that expands the capabilities of electric motors by enabling multiple... Read more →

According to a new study by researchers from Delft University of Technology, in the context of current recharging time, Dutch EV drivers in general prefer not to participate in “vehicle-to-grid” (V2G) contracts, while the opposite is true in the context of fast recharging. With regard to specific V2G contract attributes,... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), and DOE’s Office of Electricity (OE), issued a request for information (RFI) (DE-FOA-0002528) seeking feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on issues related to integrating electric vehicles (EVs) with the grid.... Read more →

Hyundai Motor North America introduced the IONIQ 5 (earlier post), an electric crossover utility vehicle (CUV) with a targeted driving range of 300 miles, design inspired by Hyundai’s ‘45’ EV concept (unveiled at the International Motor Show (IAA) 2019 in Frankfurt ), relevant technology and ultra-fast charging from 10 to... Read more →

SAE International announced revisions to SAE J3072 Standard: Interconnection Requirements for Onboard, Utility-Interactive Inverter Systems and SAE J2847/3 Recommended Practice: Communication for Plug-in Vehicles as a Distributed Energy Source. The updated electrical vehicle charging documents will play a major role in advancing automotive requirements for Distributed Energy Resources (DER) projects.... Read more →

The BMW Group and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced an expanded partnership that further leverages renewable energy to sustainably power electric vehicles (EVs). ChargeForward is the first smart charging program to offer customers incentives for maximizing the integration of renewable energy while optimizing their EV charging. This advanced... Read more →

EV Connect, a California-based software-as-a-service company, is collaborating with the Indiana-based Battery Innovation Center (BIC) and Energy Systems Network (ESN) to deploy Indiana’s first large-scale Vehicle-to-Grid capable charging system to support school bus fleet, HD truck, and other customer segment applications. EV Connect provides its electric vehicle charging management solution... Read more →

Audi is using high-precision swarm data for the first time to improve its car-to-X service “local hazard alerts”. The new version uses a car-to-cloud application that is based on a novel procedure for estimating the coefficient of friction on the basis of the wheel slip. The technology can detect minute... Read more →

Rhombus Energy Solutions announced the certification of its bi-directional 125 kilowatt (kW) DC fast charger to the Underwriter Laboratories 1741-SA standard. This latest certification now provides medium- and heavy-duty (M/HD) EV fleet operators with two Rhombus products to meet their needs: the Rhombus 125kW charger and the previously-certified Rhombus 60kW... Read more →

HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, is acquiring substantially all the assets of Savari, Inc., a Silicon Valley-based automotive technology company developing vehicle-to-everything communications (V2X) technology in 5G Edge and automotive devices. Savari’s software and hardware... Read more →

The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) (Maryland) Board of Education approved a contract on Tuesday evening with Highland Electric Transportation, a provider of turnkey electric fleet solutions, to convert the MCPS school bus fleet to all-electric, starting with 326 school buses over the next four years. This project represents the... Read more →

Russelectric, a manufacturer of distributed energy and microgrid control systems for mission-critical commercial facilities that was acquired by Siemens in 2018, has added electrical vehicle charging capabilities at its Hingham, Massachusetts, facility. In 2017, Russelectric installed a renewable, hybrid microgrid at its Hingham location, consisting of grid power, a solar... Read more →

Nuvve Corporation, a leader in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, and IoTecha Corp., a provider of electric vehicle (EV) smart charging technology, are joining forces to deploy and commercialize a bidirectional charging solution for electric vehicles with the Combined Charging Standard (CCS) plugs supporting the ISO/IEC15118 protocol. This approach allows automotive OEMs... Read more →

FCA Italy S.p.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., and ENGIE EPS, and Italian technology player in energy storage, hydrogen and e-mobility, have been awarded with 25 MW of capacity in the context of the tender process held by the Italian grid operator Terna. The innovative grid service,... Read more →

In China, Buick launched the 2021 GL8 Avenir family featuring industry-leading vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology and the 2021 GL8 ES with advanced driver assist technology. Both multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) are available at Buick dealers across China. With the rollout of the 2021 GL8 Avenir, Buick is among the first automotive brands... Read more →

Con Edison has begun using the batteries on five Lion Electric electric school buses to provide power to its customers, marking the first time in New York State that electricity has flowed from buses into a utility’s grid. Con Edison and its partners have begun sending power from the bus... Read more →

The City of Boulder is partnering with Fermata Energy to test the ability to reduce the city’s building energy costs with an innovative pilot at the North Boulder Recreation Center. The city and Fermata Energy have installed a charging station that enables two-way electricity: from the building to the car... Read more →

Nuvve Corporation, a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology company, and Lion Electric, an original equipment manufacturer of all-electric heavy-duty vehicles based in Québec, are collaborating to launch vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology as a standard feature of Lion’s zero-emission school buses. Lion recently launched LionA, an all-electric mini school bus, on top of an... Read more →

FLIR Systems, Inc. announced two intelligent traffic system cameras, the FLIR ThermiCam AI (sold as the TrafiSense AI camera in the US and Canada) with thermal imaging and the FLIR TrafiCam AI visible camera, both with artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize traffic flow on roadways and at intersections. When combined... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $7 million in funding for Michigan-based cybersecurity company The Dream Team LLC (DTLLC) to develop a first-of-its-kind infrastructure that protects the electric grid from cyber-attacks on electric vehicles (EV) and electric vehicle charging systems. Once developed, testing of the electric roadways... Read more →

Momentum is growing for wider scale deployment of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technologies in both vehicles and road infrastructure. However, to date deployment activities have been fragmented and relatively slow, due to continued emphasis on research, no common vision of communication technologies and market uncertainty, making it challenging for most stakeholders... Read more →

Nuvve Corporation, a San Diego-based vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology company, is participating in a program to deliver resource adequacy to local utility San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and California’s electrical grid using a large stationary battery located on the University of California San Diego’s (UC San Diego’s) campus microgrid. Nuvve... Read more →

Virtual Peaker and Fermata Energy are partnering to integrate Fermata Energy’s vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology with Virtual Peaker’s cloud-based residential energy demand response platform used by utilities across the country. Fermata Energy V2X bi-directional charger The joint venture will make it easier for utilities and their customers to combat climate change... Read more →

Audi and the Hager Group, a supplier of solutions and services for electrical installations in residential, commercial and industrial buildings Increasing network stability, lowering electricity costs, and contributing to climate protection, are researching bi-directional charging to integrate electric vehicles into the domestic power grid to reduce electricity costs and increase... Read more →