Nissan joins Ford, Honda, and BMW in EV to grid software venture

Japanese automaker Nissan has agreed to join and invest in ChargeScape, a joint venture (JV) created by BMW, Ford, and Honda dedicated to building software for electric vehicle (EV) to grid integration.

Nissan announced in a press release on Monday that it would become an equal 25-percent investor in ChargeScape, which is also equally owned by BMW, Ford, and Honda. The company’s software connects with EVs to manage the flow of electrons in line with real-time grid conditions, temporarily reducing the flow rate in times of peak demand, and even managing vehicle-to-grid  functionality to send power back to the grid when needed.

With ChargeScape, EV owners will be able to receive financial rewards for charging flexibly, and the company’s software makes it easy to set a time to have their vehicles charged. The company has said it’s also working on the heels of a successful Open Vehicle-Grid Integration Program (OVGIP), which names utility clients such as Duke Energy, Eversource Energy, and Xcel Energy.

“We are delighted to welcome Nissan to the ChargeScape joint venture,” said Joseph Vellone, CEO of ChargeScape. “Nissan’s decision to join us underscores their commitment to helping customers charge more cheaply and sustainably and highlights ChargeScape’s central position in the vehicle-grid integration space.”

ChargeScape details its past pilots with Xcel Energy and other utility operators on its website,

Nissan also points out that it has over 650,000 Leaf EVs on the road in the U.S., along with the vehicle being one of the first to export power back to the electrical grid. The automaker is continuing to invest heavily into bidirectional charging features across its future EV lineup.

Meanwhile, ChargeScape is working on building distributed virtual power plant (VPP) programs across California, Texas, and other markets. Essentially EV owners can sell their excess energy back to the grid to help utility providers avoid utilizing more-expensive and higher-carbon-outputting “peaker plants” when the grid is being overloaded.

These are similar to Tesla’s Powerwall VPP pilots, which let owners of the company’s home batteries sell electricity back to the grid to create a massive, distributed battery that can return power to the grid during times of peak demand.

Earlier this year, Nissan and Honda also announced a separate JV to build EVs, along with projects dedicated to automotive intelligence.

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