While pumping unused diesel or gasoline out of a truck’s fuel tank to sell on the open market is not exactly a convenient option, selling unused energy from an EV battery holds much more promise.
Utilities around the U.S. have been working more closely with OEMs, fleets and government officials to explore vehicle-to-grid (V2G) electricity distribution. Such an option can not only help fleets recoup energy costs, but also help meet their communities' power needs during grid constraints.
CCJ learned of two utilities that recently began pilots testing V2G with the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning. Another utility has been testing V2G with electric school buses. Experts believe larger Class 8 electric trucks have a lot of V2G potential so long as use cases provide enough battery power for discharging.
CALSTART vice president Jasna Tomic, who has been working in V2G for the past 20 years, said the additional power that electric trucks can provide, like Mercedes’ recently announced eActros LongHaul with a 600kWh battery pack, can be impactful power sources if the right conditions are met.
“If you have 10 [eActros trucks] on site, it's a huge battery storage that we need to definitely look at and work with the fleets, grid operators and utilities to understand how this can be better integrated into a grid system,” Tomic said.
