Tackling climate change depends on replacing fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, with renewable sources, such as wind and solar power. Electric vehicles (EVs) will play a key role in the transition to sustainable transportation systems, and emerging technology will allow EVs to give their batteries’ surplus electric power back to the grid.
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Nuvve Corporation has taken steps toward this goal with its proprietary vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system, which it has deployed around the world. Founded in 2010, the company collaborates with public utilities, automotive manufacturers, and commercial fleets to create sustainable transportation.
V2G takes advantage of the storage capacity of EV batteries by allowing their owners to sell surplus electricity back to the utilities. In addition to being a money source, V2G enables owners to reduce operating costs by storing electricity for use during peak hours.
This power exchange is managed by another Nuvve product, the Grid Integrated Vehicle Platform, which automatically balances the charge needed for a day with power that can be sold back. Part of the system is the Nuvve Energy Regulation Aggregator, which accesses the power grid through the Internet. Commercial fleet operators use it to allocate energy for the next day’s travel requirements, taking time and distance into account as it distributes each EV’s wattage.
The system is also available in North America to private owners of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and the Nissan LEAF models. Nuvve can install V2G in multi-unit dwellings for communal use.
Nuvve also manufactures V2G-compatible charging stations. Its single-phase alternating current J1772 charger feeds up to 19.2 kilowatts (kW) from a wall- or pedestal-mounted setup. The three-phase J3068 AC charger delivers up to 99kW. In addition, the company markets direct current options that work in only one direction. Nuvve’s heavy-duty chargers also can provide unidirectional or bidirectional power to fleet vehicles.
Nuvve products and services have a worldwide scope. One example is a demonstration project in Oxfordshire, England. Launched in April 2019. The 3-year project provides real-time information for the area’s energy management system. It connects distributed energy resources such as EV’s, solar power, and heat networks. Other Nuvve projects include the island of Bornholm, Denmark (advanced battery storage) Queens, New York (campus vehicle fleets), and Windhoek, Namibia (United Nations EV’s).
In Europe, the company is participating in the unification of diverse data centers into a single energy information exchange. Its grid motion program in Paris moves charging times from periods of high electricity costs to lower ones. Tokyo drivers stand to benefit from the firm’s role in marketing cars that combine internal combustions engines and EV technology.
Nuvve advanced the American reach of their technology in March 2021 with the introduction of V2G-equipped buses in two Illinois school districts. The company partnered with longtime school bus manufacturer Blue Bird to introduce the first two fast-charge direct current vehicles to operate in North America. The buses are powered by the Cummins PowerDrive EV system that produces no greenhouse gases.
Gregory Poilasne, the chief executive officer and chairman of Nuvve, noted an additional benefit of selling electricity back to the grid. The buses will also serve as emergency backup power. An official in the Hollis district also said that the new bus will make its fleet 100 percent electric-powered and reduce more service requirements than conventional diesel-fueled buses.
Nuvve is publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange (NVVE). For more information, visit nuvve.com.
