Us Automaker Implores Utilities To Explore V2g, Makes Big…

If the potential of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is ever going to be leveraged to make a dent in U.S. electricity demand, it will undoubtedly require buy-in from major American automakers. Ford was the first to embrace the possibilities; now it appears General Motors (GM) is fully on board.

Wade Sheffer, vice president of GM Energy, has published an open letter to utility executives and policymakers imploring the broad adoption of V2G capabilities. He argues for a “unified, forward-looking commitment from all stakeholders, including automakers” in public-private collaboration to leverage electric vehicles (EVs) as distributed energy resources (DERs) for the grid.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has highlighted V2G for its unique potential to help limit future grid investment by offering the greatest hourly energy flexibility among the evaluated technologies. GM alone has more than 250,000 bidirectional-capable vehicles on American roads today, and the IEA projects 250 million EVs will be on roads globally by 2030.

“EVs with their sophisticated batteries sit largely untapped,” Sheffer wrote. “GM wants to work collaboratively to make them the dynamic infrastructure assets we know they can be.”

GM is actively testing V2G integration technology. One collaboration between the automaker and California utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is projected to add over 52,000 EVs to grid-balancing programs by 2030. Another ongoing partnership in Michigan with DTE Energy uses GM employees’ homes as a test bed for backup capacity programs.

Sheffer argued that consumers will be more motivated to adopt EVs or participate in V2G programs if they are given “clear, appropriate incentives.” For example, expanding localized time-of-use tariffs could allow EV owners to cost-effectively charge their vehicles during energy surpluses and receive compensation when supporting the grid during peak demand. Thus, Sheffer said, consumers will have a clear picture of their vehicle as an asset that can offset some of its own operating costs while also providing benefits to the grid.

We’re not quite there yet, though. Sheffer added that streamlining paperwork, engineering reviews, and utility interconnection processes are also needed to build consumer confidence and remove some headaches from the decision to go electric. A frictionless setup that allows customers to buy a bidirectional charger, plug it in, and “immediately begin participating” will be key, he added.

Feeling SAlty About Energy Storage?

Is the future of energy storage made of salt? In fact, it might be.

While extolling the virtues of V2G, GM is also taking the plunge into sodium-ion battery technology for grid applications, creating some chemistry competition in the traditionally lithium-ion-dominated market. General Motors (GM) and Peak Energy, a U.S. energy storage provider, have announced a strategic partnership to develop and deploy next-generation sodium-ion battery cells purpose-built for grid storage.

Backed by a strategic investment from GM Ventures in Peak Energy, the partnership will pair Peak’s passively cooled storage technology with GM’s battery cell development experience. GM will develop the sodium-ion cell in its Michigan battery labs and retain exclusive manufacturing rights, while Peak will incorporate the cell into its proprietary energy storage systems. This “leapfrog technology” will strengthen American leadership and innovation in the rapidly growing energy storage market while solidifying Peak’s supply chain as its domestic manufacturing scales, the companies say.

“Lowering the cost of energy is one of the most important issues facing America today. We are proud to develop an energy storage system that is safer, cheaper, and faster to deploy than any other technology on the market, enabling the U.S. to meet rapidly growing energy demand without saddling consumers with higher prices,” assessed Landon Mossburg, CEO and co-founder of Peak Energy. “The future of grid storage will be defined by affordability, reliability, and American innovation. We’re thrilled to partner with GM to bring a better solution to the American energy economy.”

Today’s energy storage technology is predominantly built around lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry and requires active cooling to maintain safe operating temperatures. Peak Energy says its proprietary, passively cooled sodium-ion system reduces energy storage costs by 20% compared to conventional systems and delivers “more than 99% uptime.” According to Peak Energy’s analysis, the United States could reduce annual energy storage waste by up to 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) by switching from LFP-based systems to Peak’s passively cooled system.

Why sodium-ion?

Kurt Kelty, GM’s Vice President of Battery & Sustainability, recently penned an op-ed making the case for sodium-ion batteries, which appear well-suited for hotter climates and dense or urban areas.

“Compared with incumbent chemistries, sodium-ion can perform across a wider range of temperatures and for more cycles,” Kelty wrote. “That means that sodium ion-powered energy storage systems have the potential to operate without active cooling and with much less system complexity. In large energy storage systems, that matters. Active cooling requires more hardware, more maintenance, more parasitic energy losses, more noise, and more opportunities for failure — all of which can drive costs higher over time.”

Peak Energy says its system dramatically reduces energy storage costs and eases the need for new generation, which would be a boon for ratepayers irritated by rising bills. Relying on highly stable sodium-ion (NFPP) battery cells, Peak Energy’s offering eliminates costly routine maintenance, removes cooling systems that use energy, and reduces “overbuild,” or the amount of excess storage required to account for capacity degradation over time. Its configuration enables safe operation over a wide temperature range without performance degradation, altering the economics of traditional energy storage.

By removing active cooling, fans, pumps, and other moving parts, Peak Energy says its 3.5 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) eliminates more than 85% of the root causes behind historical BESS failures. Performance testing by Peak indicated it could reduce auxiliary power use by up to 90%, saving approximately $1 million annually per gigawatt-hour installed compared to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) systems. 

Peak shipped its first system last summer for use in a d pilot by nine utilities and independent power producers (IPPs), hailing it as the first-ever fully passive megawatt-hour (MWh) scale battery storage system, the largest sodium-ion phosphate pyrophosphate (NFPP) battery system in the world, and the first grid-scale sodium-ion storage solution deployed to the U.S. grid. In November, the company signed a multi-year phased agreement with Jupiter Power to supply up to 4.75 GWh of sodium-ion BESS for deployment between 2027 and 2030.

Additionally, with the abundance of sodium across the world, battery manufacturers could get some supply chain relief with less dependence on lithium, a notoriously tricky element to obtain due to its supply chain being concentrated in just a few regions – over 70% of lithium processing capacity belongs to China.

Better than Lithium?

GM isn’t the only company making a bet on the utility of sodium-ion batteries. In a recent edition of the Factor This Brief, Mukesh Chatter, co-founder and chief executive officer of sodium-ion battery pioneer Alsym Energy, made a similar case for the emerging technology.

“We believe that there will be a significant shift in stationary storage from lithium-ion solutions to sodium-ion ones,” Chatter said. “Within five years, it will be well established that sodium-ion is a better battery for stationary storage.”

Alsym is partnering with renewable energy developer Juniper Energy to deploy 500 MWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS), primarily across California. By integrating Alsym’s Na-Series technology, Juniper will deploy storage assets that eliminate the fire risks associated with traditional lithium-ion chemistries in high-temperature regions the Mojave Desert.

“Unlithium-ion or even generic sodium-ion variants, our specific chemistry is inherently non-flammable and does not enter thermal runaway,” Chatter added. “This allows us to support the grid in dense urban environments and inside existing infrastructure where the risk of fire has historically been a dealbreaker for regulators and insurers.”

This month, Alsym signed a deal with domestic manufacturer Re:Build Manufacturing to develop commercial-scale sodium-ion battery cell manufacturing capacity in the United States. In April, the company also signaled its intent to team up with long‑duration energy storage system (LDES) manufacturer ESS Tech in a deal that would add 8.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of cells and modules to the otherwise iron-flow-focused storage company’s portfolio.