Toyota Motor North America and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), a Southern California-based public utility that serves 3.7 million people, have announced a collaboration on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) research for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) using a Toyota bZ4X. The collaboration aims to find synergies between the needs of BEV owners and the needs of the electricity grid, as well as explore how to communicate with BEV owners about the potential benefits of bidirectional capabilities.
The research will explore the V2G bidirectional power flow technology that enables BEV owners to both charge their vehicle’s batteries from the electric grid and discharge electricity from the batteries back to the grid. According to Toyota, about 80% of owners charge their BEVs at home overnight when grid demand is lower. With bidirectional capability, these vehicles could send power back to the grid during peak demand hours or at other critical times, such as during rotating outages due to a shortage in electricity supplies.
The collaboration will take place at SDG&E’s campus in San Diego, California, using Fermata Energy’s bidirectional charger and V2G platform. Over the years, SDG&E has implemented a variety of EV charging infrastructure programs. To date, the company has installed more than 3,600 chargers at workplaces, schools, and parks, as well as industrial and commercial facilities. The utility has also electrified more than 20% of its over-the-road fleet. The pilot project will also assist SDG&E in understanding the infrastructure needed to enable the rapid growth of EV charging infrastructure.
Toyota has collaborated with SDG&E on this project for a good reason. The latter’s service territory, which encompasses 25 communities in San Diego and southern Orange Counties, represents one of the largest Toyota BEV and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) ownership regions in California.
Currently, Toyota sells two BEVs in the U.S. and Canada – the bZ4X and Lexus RZ 450e. Toyota recently announced plans for an all-new three-row BEV SUV that will be assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky in 2025.
A greater push for V2G technology research
Recently, at its inaugural Polestar Day, the company announced a large-scale vehicle-to-grid (V2G) project in Gothenburg, Sweden, to find potential business models for V2G tech in the region. Like Toyota is using the bZ4X EV for its project, Polestar will use a fleet of Polestar 3 vehicles for their research project.