BMW, Ford And Honda Have A Cunning Plan To Make Your EV More Useful When It's Parked
In a move that's said to benefit both EV owners and electrical utilities across the U.S. and Canada, automakers BMW, Ford, and Honda have announced the formation of a new company called ChargeScape. The three brands will share equal ownership in the company, which is said to "unlock entirely new value that EVs can provide to the electric grid, while enabling EV customers to earn financial benefits through a variety of managed charging and energy-sharing services never before possible with traditional gasoline-powered vehicles."
Specifically, the automakers will merge their years of research concerning an Open Vehicle-Grid Integration Platform (OVGIP) to create a single, integrated platform that will eliminate the need for separate channels between individual automotive brands and utility providers. ChargeScape states that the platform will eventually be capable of giving electrical utilities access to the energy stored in EV batteries while the vehicles are not being driven. Additionally, participating EV customers will receive financial incentives to charge their vehicles at "grid-friendly" times suggested by provided schedules.
Other automakers are invited to join
As electric vehicles become increasingly mainstream, charging requirements will place additional strain on the electrical grid. ChargeScape aims to not only support grid resiliency in an increasingly challenging environment but to one day allow utilities to capture energy from idle EVs using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications.
ChargeScape is carbon-friendly, too. In particular, EV owners' personal carbon footprint can be reduced by opting to focus on energy supplied by renewable sources like wind and solar. However, the company stresses that "participating EV customers will always remain in control of their charging and energy decisions," implying that participants are free to deviate from the recommended schedule and energy sources as necessitated by circumstances.
One final benefit of the collaboration is that BMW, Ford, and Honda all have direct lines of communication with their EV customers through various mediums, whereas utility companies may struggle to identify EV customers within their service area in an efficient, cost-effective manner. ChargeScape's three founding members say that other automakers will also be welcome to join once the company is operational, which is expected to be early next year, pending regulatory approvals.