MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, 2nd of November, 2023: Wallbox (NYSE:WBX) a global leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management solutions, today announced a partnership with Bidirectional Energy, a bidirectional EV energy management software platform, that has culminated in both companies being selected to receive significant funding from the highly competitive CEC REDWDS grant. The companies plan to offer Wallbox’s second-generation DC bidirectional charger, Quasar 2, with the Bidirectional Energy EV charger management platform, starting in the first half of 2024.
The California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Clean Transportation Program provides up to $100 million in annual funding to support innovation and accelerate the development and deployment of advanced transportation and fuel technologies throughout the state. The REDWDS (Responsive, Easy Charging Products with Dynamic Signals) grant accelerates the development and deployment of easy-to-use charging products, which helps customers manage electric vehicle (EV) charging and respond to dynamic grid signals.
In a highly competitive process, Bidirectional Energy and Wallbox have been proposed recipients for awards of $2.2M in Phase 1 funding by the CEC Clean Transportation Program. When the awards are confirmed, the partnership between Bidirectional Energy and Wallbox will be able to deploy Quasar 2 bidirectional chargers in California residential homes, as well as offer installation solutions via COIL, a Wallbox company. Through the Bidirectional Energy platform, EV owners can potentially save money on their monthly utility bill as well as benefit from various utilities’ vehicle-to-grid programs, all while their EV is parked at home. The V2X (vehicle-to-everything) system can also keep the lights on when the grid goes down, providing extra resilience to homeowner. The V2X (vehicle-to-everything) system can also keep the lights on when the grid goes down, providing extra resilience to homeowners. If the project is successful, additional funding will be made available through a second phase to continue deploying bidirectional chargers across California for an additional three years.
“We’re excited to work with Bidirectional Energy and the CEC to accelerate the development and deployment of bidirectional charging to quickly respond to dynamic grid signals. Bidirectional charging can offer long-term benefits to users, grid operators, and utilities and will accelerate the transition to California renewable energy sources,” said Brett Graessle, Wallbox VP of Global Partnerships and Business Development.
“Bidirectional EVs are critical to solving the massive scalability challenges facing the US electric grid. We are excited to partner with Wallbox to get bidirectional chargers installed in people’s homes, and help EV owners earn passive income by selling energy from their idle EV batteries. Together, we’ll leverage EVs to make our power grid more reliable and reduce total carbon emissions on the grid,” said Angela Zhang, CEO of Bidirectional Energy.
This project builds on Wallbox’s leadership in the bidirectional charging space. In July this year, Wallbox was selected to join the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle-to-Everything (“V2X”) Memorandum of Understanding as part of its latest round of signatories. The collaboration brings together cutting-edge resources from the DOE, DOE national labs, state and local governments, utilities and private entities to evaluate and accelerate technical and economic feasibility of vehicle-grid integration (VGI), including bidirectional charging, into energy infrastructure.
Quasar 2 is a next-generation 11.5kW bidirectional charger that will enable EV owners to charge and discharge their electric vehicle to power their home, vehicle-to-home (“V2H”) or send energy back to the grid, vehicle-to-grid (“V2G”). The partnership between Bidirectional Energy and Wallbox unlocks access to the V2G programs, providing additional revenue streams to EV owners. On average EVs can hold between 76 and 100kWh of energy, over 5x the amount of energy of a standard 13.5kWh home storage system, and power a typical household’s energy consumption for up to four days, removing the need for expensive home energy storage systems.
Quasar 2’s cutting edge innovation extends to its Power Recovery feature, which was designed specifically for the acute need for backup power, allowing users to transform their EV into a powerful generator in the event of a power outage or blackout. With the use of the Power Recovery Unit Quasar 2 automatically switches the user’s power source from the grid to their vehicle, providing a critical load to a home during a potential emergency.
This type of backup service is becoming not only increasingly important, but crucial, given the sheer volume and duration of power outages in the US. Last year, California alone witnessed 39 power outages and more than 414 hours of total outage time. Across the U.S., unforeseen power outages cost the U.S. economy $150 billion annually.This feature also illustrates that EV chargers can go beyond energy efficiency and grid services.
Wallbox estimates that Quasar 2 together with the Bidirectional Energy platform can potentially earn users yearly energy bill savings of over $1,000* when combined with utility Demand Response programs and time-of-use utility rates. By taking advantage of time-of-use utility rates in the U.S., users can enhance the impact of V2X technology by scheduling charging sessions when energy prices are low and discharging their cars to power their homes when prices are high. Users with solar panel installations can also store excess solar energy in their EV during low usage periods and then harness this energy at another time, including peak periods, to reduce their reliance on the grid and accelerate the uptake of renewable energy.
About Wallbox
Wallbox is a global technology company, dedicated to changing how the world uses energy. Wallbox creates advanced electric vehicle charging and energy management systems that redefine the relationship between users and the network. Wallbox goes beyond charging electric vehicles to give users the power to control their consumption, save money and live more sustainably. Wallbox offers a complete portfolio of charging and energy management solutions for residential, semi-public, and public use in more than 100 countries around the world. Founded in 2015 in Barcelona, where the company’s headquarters are located, Wallbox currently has offices across Europe, Asia, and America. For more information, visit www.wallbox.com
About Bidirectional Energy
Bidirectional Energy is a San Francisco-based company with a mission to turn EVs into distributed batteries for the U.S. electric grid. Their end-to-end software platform intelligently manages EV charging and discharging, in order to meet 100% of the EV owners’ driving needs while earning passive income for the EV owners by selling energy from their idle EV batteries. Bidirectional Energy’s Virtual Power Plant (VPP) helps utilities and grid operators achieve both their grid reliability and their 24/7 renewability goals. Learn more at www.bidirectional.energy
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*Any estimates of potential savings provided within this document are subject to variations based on geographical locations, local utility rates, and energy consumption rates. Actual savings may vary and are influenced by specific regional factors. Please note that the estimates are provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as guaranteed outcomes.