General Motors has launched a subsidiary business to offer energy storage and management products for both homes and businesses, following in the footsteps of other electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla and its Powerwall and Powerpack products.
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GM plans to offer electric vehicle customers its Ultium battery packs — the same ones used in its cars — as a stationary energy storage source that can store power for when their homes, cars, or even the energy grid, needs it. It can take the place of a gas-powered generator during power outages or allow a vehicle's battery to power a home or business.
One of the biggest advantages for customers is the potential for selling power back to the grid during an energy crisis, which could lower the cost of electric-vehicle ownership, especially in areas where power outages are common. Customers of GM competitor Tesla have already started using a similar feature called Virtual Power Plants, as have utility customers who generate power with solar panels.
Seamless. Integrated. Prepare to plug into GM Energy. 🔌 pic.twitter.com/PofP4XdBic
— General Motors (@GM) October 11, 2022
Some commercial customers are already using services from GM Energy, while home energy systems are expected to become available next year when sales of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV begin. As for supplying power to the grid, GM plans to begin working with California's Pacific Gas & Electric next year to test the concept. All of these systems need to be connected, of course, and the needed software is expected to be released near the end of 2023.
GM Energy is one large step in GM's plan to end production of its gasoline-powered engines and switch to electric vehicles by 2035, a plan that was announced in 2021. Its part of a larger goal for the company to be carbon neutral by 2040.
