Nissan Joins EV Grid Management Group ChargeScape

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Nissan said today that it has entered into an agreement to invest in ChargeScape, a joint venture equally owned by BMW, Ford and Honda* concentrated on electric vehicle-grid integration. Once the transaction is complete, Nissan will become an equal 25% investor in ChargeScape and will roll out ChargeScape’s services to its EV drivers across the U.S. and Canada.**

“We are delighted to welcome Nissan to the ChargeScape joint venture,” said Joseph Vellone, ChargeScape CEO. “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.”

Nissan’s incorporation into the ChargeScape alliance is significant with sales of more than 650,000 LEAF models in the U.S., one of the first EVs with the capability to export power back to the grid. Nissan is investing heavily in bidirectional charging (V2X) capabilities for its entire electric fleet across the world, and ChargeScape is currently building virtual power plants in California, Texas and other markets.

“ChargeScape helps us more conveniently and effectively connect utilities to EV drivers, making the ownership experience more valuable for drivers by giving them incentives for participating in managed charging and vehicle-to-grid programs,” said Kent O’Hara, president of Nissan’s 4R battery business. “Joining ChargeScape helps us contribute to a nationwide reduction in CO2 emissions by enabling utilities to use EV battery energy storage to balance peak grid demands, while optimizing the use of renewable electricity sources.”

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** ChargeScape will allow the smart use of plugged-in EV batteries by providing energy data to electric utilities and system operators such as aggregated demand response, alignment of charging and EV battery utilization with off-peak, low-cost hours and the availability of high renewable energy. “Due to the proficient integration with participating automakers and the anticipation of high levels of EV customer enrollment, these energy services are expected to be a cost-effective, operational benefit for electric utilities. By using automaker telematics, ChargeScape intends to provide managed charge scheduling through vehicle connectivity without requiring Wi-Fi-enabled charging stations. This will support the many EV customers who do not use “smart” chargers at home, as their EVs would otherwise be unreachable for grid services,” according to ChargeScape.