Ford, BMW and Honda have formed a company designed to connect electric vehicles, automakers and the power grid in the U.S. and Canada to benefit all.
Called ChargeScape, the enterprise awaits regulatory approvals, but the brands say they expect it to be operational early next year.
It would manage energy use for EVs that the brands say would be optimized, convenient and cost-effective.
EV owners would get cost savings for charging their vehicles at “grid-friendly times” while eventually having the option to apply to add stored energy to the grid from their batteries during peak demand periods.
The company’s platform would “eliminate the need for individual integrations between each automotive brand and each electric utility,” instead connecting utilities to “a wide pool of EVs,” Ford said in a press release announcing the company.
The participating automakers say the partnership would help manage power usage by EVs to enable “grid resiliency.” Some industry watchers have expressed concern that the drive toward eventual replacement of gas-powered vehicles with EVs would strain the existing grid and that the transition should happen more gradually to give communities and utilities more time to prepare.
In announcing ChargeScape, the brands said it would ultimately play an even loftier environmental goal of “helping to decarbonize the grid.” Ford’s press release says the partnership would “reduce EV customers’ personal carbon footprints by utilizing electricity that comes from more readily available renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar.”
