EV charging and energy management specialist Wallbox and startup Bidirectional Energy have secured $2.2 million in grant funding from the California Energy Commission for Phase 1 of their Bidirectional Residential V2X Demonstration Project.

The companies will install and operate Wallbox’s Quasar 2 bidirectional charger at 120 residential locations across California. The chargers will be managed by Bidirectional Energy’s virtual power plant (VPP) platform to provide home energy backup and utility bill reduction.

Quasar 2 is an 11.5 kW bidirectional charger that enables EV owners to use their EV batteries to power their homes (V2H) or send energy back to the grid (V2G). Quasar 2’s Power Recovery feature can automatically switch a home’s power source from the grid to an EV to provide backup power during a grid outage.

By taking advantage of time-of-use utility rates, users can save money by scheduling charging sessions when energy prices are low and discharging their cars to power their homes when prices are high. Users with solar panels can also store excess solar energy in their EVs during low usage periods and discharge this energy at peak usage periods.

Quasar 2 supports ISO 15118-20, and is compatible with all bidirectional EVs that utilize this protocol. Wallbox is currently undergoing the certification process for the UL 1741 SB and UL 9741 standards.

The bidirectional chargers will be installed by Wallbox subsidiary COIL.

“Vehicle-to-grid innovations can play a critical role in helping California reach its clean energy goals, while also reducing emissions from transportation. Wallbox and Bidirectional Energy are using vehicle-to-grid technology to provide long-term benefits to the grid while also helping customers save money by scheduling charging during off-peak hours,” said Patty Monahan, CEC’s Lead Commissioner for Transportation.

“Bidirectional charging can offer long-term benefits to all users, grid operators, and utilities and will accelerate the transition to California renewable energy sources,” said Erik Folgeberg, General Manager of Wallbox North America.

“Bidirectional EVs are critical to solving the massive scalability challenges facing the US electric grid,” said Angela Zhang, CEO of Bidirectional Energy.

Source: Wallbox