Volvo Launches Energy Solutions Unit For Smart Charging and Grid Support with Bi-Directional EV Technology

Volvo Cars has announced the launch of Volvo Cars Energy Solutions, a business unit dedicated to offering energy storage and charging-related technologies and services. This initiative aims to harness the untapped potential of EVs and their batteries beyond eliminating tailpipe emissions. Volvo Cars bi-directional charging enables electric cars to contribute excess battery power to compatible grids, thereby assisting in balancing the grid during peak hours and reducing the usage of electricity. The company says that the fully electric EX90 SUV will be the first Volvo car equipped with the necessary hardware and software that will help to facilitate bi-directional charging and direct energy storage from solar sources.

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Alexander Petrofski, the new head of Volvo Cars Energy Solutions, said “With bi-directional charging, you can use your car battery as an extra energy supply, for example to provide power to your home, other electric devices or another electric Volvo car. The next step would be to enable this feature all around Sweden, and hopefully that will pave the way for even broader acceptance of similar charging and energy storage services around Europe.”

To test these vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies, Volvo Cars has collaborated with Göteborg Energi Nät AB, the local grid company in Gothenburg, to launch one of the first V2G pilot programs. This program is designed to evaluate the performance of V2G technologies on the local energy grid and in real-home environments with actual customers.

The overarching goal of the pilot project is to demonstrate the tangible benefits that V2G programs can provide to grid companies and to create a testing ground.

Aside from V2G technology, Volvo Cars Energy Solutions also offers vehicle-to-home (V2H) products that enable users to utilise stored energy in their electric car batteries to power their homes and reduce energy costs. Additionally, the business unit is exploring vehicle-to-load (V2L) services that could involve using electric vehicle batteries to power camping equipment or charge electric bicycles.

Written by: - Ronit Agarwal