Toyota Motor North America and local energy utility Pepco have embarked on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) research for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Maryland, using a Toyota bZ4X as the test vehicle.
The V2G research will be conducted at Pepco’s Watershed Sustainability Center, situated at the company’s Rockville Service Center in Montgomery County, Maryland. The project will utilize a bidirectional charger to explore bidirectional charging capabilities, enabling electric vehicle owners to balance the grid and/or their homes when energy is required, such as during blackouts or periods of high demand.
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Toyota stated that Pepco will “design and evaluate a variety of EV charging and discharging use cases that can potentially provide grid and customer benefits.”
In April of this year, Maryland passed vehicle-to-grid legislation HB 1256, also known as the Distributed Renewable Integration and Vehicle Electrification (DRIVE) Act. This legislation mandates utilities to develop interconnection processes for bidirectional chargers.
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The demonstration project aims to help Pepco understand the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the transition to electric vehicles. The results of the project are expected to shed light on the complexities of connecting large numbers of vehicles to the grid, better preparing the utility to implement the requirements of the DRIVE Act and support customer adoption of V2G technology.
Christopher Yang, group vice president of Toyota EV Charging Solutions, highlighted the benefits of bidirectional charging, stating, “Bidirectional charging is a great way for customers to leverage their electric vehicles in a way that supports the grids and their home electricity ecosystem.”
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Vehicle-to-grid trials are being conducted globally as more vehicle owners choose electric vehicles. This month, German company The Mobility House launched a business unit dedicated to enabling electric vehicles to feed into the grid, in line with the increasing adoption of this technology, such as the upcoming Renault with V2G function.
