EV charging platform ChargeScape has partnered with VPP platform provider Leap to accelerate EV participation in grid services programmes across the US.
The partnership aims to build the nation’s largest EV virtual power plant (VPP) to provide additional capacity for electricity grids.
ChargeScape’s platform connects power grids with automotive brands including BMW, Ford, Nissan, Honda and Tesla, while Leap’s software-only solution offers automated access to energy markets. It enables EVs and other distributed energy resources (DERs) to participate in a wide range of demand response and other grid services.
By collaborating, the two companies aim to enable automakers to unlock the value of EVs as revenue-generating grid assets at scale. The partnership offers automated smart charging and bidirectional power export including vehicle-to-grid (V2G).
With access to the Californian wholesale market, automakers on the ChargeScape platform can earn new revenue in Resource Adequacy and the Emergency Load Reduction Programme (ELRP), in addition to the statewide Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) programme.
ChargeScape began operations as an equally owned joint venture between BMW Group, Ford Motor Company and American Honda Motor Co., Inc., in September 2024 and Nissan joined, taking a 25% share in equity a month later.
The venture means there is no need for individual integrations between each automotive brand and each electric utility, enabling the smart use of plugged-in EV batteries by securely providing energy data to electric utilities and system operators.
The companies plan to extend coverage to other parts of the US beyond California. As covered on our sister site, Energy Storage News, Leap recently announced entry into the PJM Interconnection wholsesale market; PJM is a regional transmission organisation (RTO) that coordinates movement of electricity through all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
VPPs are more often seen utilising solar PV and battery storage assets, typically installed at domestic and commercial properties. However, as the capacity of the batteries in EVs is increasingly recognised as an expendable resource, options for drivers to engage in grid balancing are on the rise.
In the UK, EV charging platform Monta and smart energy company GridBeyond successfully enrolled the first 2,000 EV chargepoints into the UK’s Static Firm Frequency Response (SFFR) programme in February.
The initiative automates smart charging to prevent power outages and support the grid. Octopus offers a similar grid balancing service through its Kraken platform, automatically shifting customers’ EV charging to cheaper times (typically overnight), and in May last year, it had reached a cumulative 1GW of EV batteries being managed.
Norway-headquartered smart EV charging company Easee announced plans earlier this month to leverage its network of over 850,000 4G-connected chargers for grid balancing on a national and regional level. Easee will offer load balancing, demand response and dynamic charging through its EV charging network.
