Toyota and Pepco are working to create an electric vehicle charger that replenishes the car’s battery while sending power back into the local energy grid.
The automaker and the regional utility company have announced that they are conducting “vehicle-to-grid” research for battery electric vehicles at Pepco’s Watershed Sustainability Center in Rockville.
How does it work? When an electric vehicle is being charged, the energy stored in its battery can be directed into the grid, researchers say. A bidirectional charger can tap into the back-and-forth flow of electricity between the car and the charger and deliver energy to the grid.
Not just any car can take part in such an exchange, says Max Parness, the senior manager for grid services for EV charging solutions at Toyota. It takes a specific kind of vehicle to perform the vehicle-to-grid energy transfer.
“It’s less so about the battery and more so about the electronics on the car,” Mr. Parness told The Washington Times.
In addition, the time of day the chargers would be of most use is context-dependent, and “the most important context is what’s right for the customer,” Mr. Parness added. Also important is the time of day that would be most beneficial for the grid; for example, charging could be done at a certain time to help reduce emissions.
Toyota says it hasn’t decided on a location for the chargers, which likely will be for private use. Public chargers are a possibility, but 80% of electric vehicle charging is done at home, says Josh Burns, Toyota’s mobility communications manager.
Toyota and Pepco say they hope to develop bidirectional charging to aid in the transition to clean energy production while, at the same time, reducing electricity costs.
Other automakers, like General Motors and Ford, have focused on and increased production of electric vehicles in recent years. But electric vehicles accounted for less than 1% of Toyota’s total sales like year, prompting criticism that it has been slow to respond to interest in EVs.
Mr. Burns says Toyota’s approach has been driven by customer demand. “It’s really taking that customer-centered approach and letting the customer decide when they’re ready for that technology,” he said.
Toyota plans to market two new battery-powered electric vehicles in addition to the two it already produces, Mr. Burns said. The automaker plans to produce 30 battery-operated models globally and up to 3.5 million electric vehicles by 2030.
Meanwhile, Maryland is one of the nation’s fastest-growing markets for electric vehicles, and state officials have said they aim to have 300,00 registered EVs on the road by 2025. Pepco says it plans to install 250 EV chargers across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties to help reach that goal.
In April, Maryland became the first state to enact vehicle-to-grid legislation when it passed Act HB 1256, which requires utilities to develop interconnection processes for bidirectional chargers.
Dan Chwastyk, Pepco’s strategy manager, said Maryland has “a lot of forward-thinking leaders, drivers and customers who are vocally excited about electric vehicles and their possibilities.”
With electric vehicles’ popularity increasing, electricity demand could rise as much as 38% by 2050, according to a study by the Department of Energy.
Toyota’s project with Pepco is its third vehicle-to-grid pilot with a utility company. In 2022, Toyota launched its first pilot with Oncor in Texas, and initiated another with San Diego Gas & Electric in California a year later.
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