A vehicle-to-everything (V2X) demonstration program is aiming to bring around 1.5MW of unused storage on-line in Massachusetts’ first-of-its-kind project.
The two-year initiative will deploy 100 bidirectional chargers across the state to enhance grid resilience, reduce energy costs, and increase renewable energy integration.
The project will work by turning electric vehicles (EVs) into mobile energy storage assets. This ,could open up an estimated 1.5MW of new storage capacity across Massachusetts.
To achieve this, the bidirectional chargers will change Electric Vehicle (EVs) from renewable energy sources and discharge them when they are not. The chargers will be deployed at residential, school bus, municipal, and commercial fleet locations.
The program’s goal is to create a scalable blueprint for V2X programs nationwide.
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) chose clean energy solutions firm Resource Innovations and vehicle-grid integration (VGI) technology company The Mobility House (TMH) to deliver the plans.
Rachel Ackerman, senior director of Clean Transportation at the MassCEC said: “Vehicle-to-everything technology is key to leveraging electric vehicles as assets to the grid, both as a financial resource and improving reliability.
“Through a targeted deployment of bidirectional chargers across a variety of sectors, barriers can be quickly identified and resolved, demonstrating a clear pathway for an accelerated application of V2X technology.
‘MassCEC’s V2X program is a crucial step in Massachusetts’s efforts to enable wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles.’
Key program benefits to participants include:
- Free bidirectional charging stations and installation
- Strengthening grid resilience with flexible and distributed storage assets.
- Supporting the move to renewable energy
- providing backup power during outages.
- some participants to be compensated for sending stored energy to the grid.
“With the charging infrastructure provided through this program, we’re eliminating financial barriers and enabling school districts, homeowners, and fleets to access reliable backup power,” said Kelly Helfrich, Vice President,
EVs as storage assets
In April 2024, the US state of Maryland introduced its ‘Distributed Renewable Integration and Vehicle Electrification (DRIVE)’ bill that created a bidirectional charging scheme.
The bill has been passed by both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly.
The law would make Maryland the first US state to require electric utility companies to allow vehicle-to-grid systems. Read more about the Bill here
