Amid an industry-wide push by automakers to electrify their offerings, GM announced yesterday it would move further into power charging and supply systems. In a release October 11, General Motors, Inc., said it would form a new division, GM Energy, which will offer electric-vehicle charging systems, solar panels and related products to consumers and businesses.
Ultium LLC, GM’s joint venture with LG Energy Solution, will take a key role in the new division. In its October 11 announcement, GM said two new groups, Ultium Home and Ultium Commercial, would be inaugural members of GM Energy, next to the existing company Ultium Charge 360, which supports networks of EV charging stations and installs home-grid vehicle chargers.
In addition to software tools for customers, the new division is slated to offer a wide spread of home- and business power-management products, including, GM says, bidirectional charging systems for EVs, stationary batteries, solar panels, and hydrogen fuel cells.
Bidirectional charging systems allow electric vehicles to serve as backup power sources for homes and businesses during blackouts. In a statement, Travis Hester, GM’s VP for electric vehicle growth, said the new division could be a boon for the power grid.
“The reliability of the U.S. electrical power grid has never been more important,” Hester said. “GM Energy has the opportunity to help deliver sustainable energy products and services that can help mitigate the effect of power outages.”
The new division is already slated to partner with a number of electric and power businesses. GM says an agreement with SunPower Corp. means the solar-panel and home-storage company will become a “preferred installer” for GM’s home power systems while it helps GM Energy develop a home power-management system. GM added that the system is expected to become available in 2024 alongside the auto company’s electric Silverado truck.
GM also said it was piloting a program with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to let residential customers use electric vehicles to power their homes, a program GM said it expects to expand to customers in PG&E’s service area in 2023. Further east, three more companies—Con Edison, Inc., Graniterock Corp. and New Hampshire Electric Cooperative Inc.—are to help design systems to feed electricity back into the grid, GM says.
“By leveraging GM’s flexible technology platforms and the power of Ultium, we’re able to provide resilient and accessible energy solutions for all customers and the grid, helping to further advance the all-electric future,” said Mark Bole, VP of GM’s operations that use vehicles as chargers.
