GM Energy is aimed to provide a range of home, business and electric vehicle (EV) energy storage and charging products and services.
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The new business unit combines GM’s Ultium Charge 360 EV charging offerings with new home and commercial offerings, respectively Ultium Home and Ultium Commercial, in order to “create a holistic ecosystem of energy management products and services”.
With this GM is the latest vehicle manufacturer to broaden the potential of its EV development to create new business opportunities, particularly around storage, for which the demand is growing as more and more homes and businesses turn to solar PV and other clean energy technologies.
Although the company hasn’t specified, the business appears to be focussed on the North American markets, at least initially. However, in due course it could be expanded to others such as Europe, to which GM has indicated that it intends to return with its Ultium platform, which forms the basis for its growing range of EVs.
“The reliability of the US electrical power grid has never been more important,” said Travis Hester, vice president of GM EV Growth Operations.
“GM Energy has the opportunity to help deliver sustainable energy products and services that can help mitigate the effect of power outages and provide customers with resilient and cost-effective energy management.”
The Ultium Home offering includes a home energy management system to create a ‘home microgrid’ and enable vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications.
Ultium Commercial includes stationary energy storage solutions.
Ultium Charge 360, which was launched in April 2021, provides EV charging infrastructure and through partnerships with charging providers, US and Canada wide access to charging services for EV drivers.
The central interface for GM Energy’s solutions will be its Energy Services Cloud, which will house data and energy management tools, connecting customers with residential, fleet and commercial energy assets and enabling them to “simply and efficiently” manage their energy consumption through the company’s energy software applications, including for example, to deliver flexibility to the grid.
GM reports having already enrolled EV customers in managed charging programmes through the Energy Services Cloud with multiple utilities across four US states.
Energy storage collaborations
Alongside the launch of the new business, GM also has announced partnerships with other providers.
In an agreement with SunPower, the two companies plan to develop and offer customers a home energy system to consist of integrated EV and battery solutions, solar panels and home energy storage. SunPower will also become a preferred installer for the home energy system and offer customers the opportunity to add solar to their home.
The home energy system is scheduled to be available alongside the retail launch of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV, expected to begin production in fall of 2023.
Another initiative includes a V2H pilot project between GM Energy and Pacific Gas and Electric Company planned to enable residential customers to use their compatible EVs along with a bi-directional charger as backup power for essential home needs during short-term power outages.
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After initial lab tests, the two companies anticipate expanding the V2H offer to a subset of residential customers within PG&E’s service area, expected to begin in 2023.
GM Energy is also working with Con Edison, Graniterock and New Hampshire Electric Cooperative among other companies to help deliver energy solutions to customers, while also helping to inform and advance the future GM Energy offerings.
