General Motors wants to turn its electric vehicles into backup power sources.
On Tuesday the carmaker announced a pilot program with Northern California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Company, or PG&E, to test out bidirectional charging from vehicles to homes. Typically you plug your car into an outlet to charge it, but this would be the other way around.
GM’s charged up electric vehicles would serve as a power source for homes, serving as a backup generator. GM’s Rick Spina said in a media briefing that he considers EVs to be mobile batteries. Aaron August, a VP of business development from PG&E, said the battery from a vehicle like a Chevy Bolt EV could power the average Northern California home for about two days during an emergency.
It’ll start as a small pilot with an unspecified number of vehicles set up to deliver power to a home. Both companies plan to expand the pilot to more customers by the end of this year.
Currently, none of GM’s electric vehicles are capable of delivering energy to a home, or another vehicle. But the upcoming GMC Hummer EV and Chevy Silverado EV pickup will be equipped to charge equipment, supplies, or even another EV.
