SB 233’s Bidirectional EVs Would Create a New Mobile Energy Storage Resource for California

On May 30, 2023, members of the California Senate passed California Senate Bill 233 sending it on its way to the California Assembly.

California Senate Bill 233 would:

- charge the California Energy Commission to convene a stakeholder workgroup to submit a report to the Governor and legislature by January 1, 2026, that examines the challenges and opportunities associated with using an EV to power a home or building or providing electricity to the electrical grid; and
- require new EVs sold in the state to have bidirectional charging capability by 2030.

Authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner and supported sponsored by The Climate Center, Nuvve, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, SB233 aims to make bidirectional EVs the norm ahead of the state’s mandate that all new cars and light trucks sold in California be zero-emissions vehicles by 2035.

Bidirectional charging is essential to enable the full benefits of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) integration.

Nuvve CEO Gregory Poilasne testified before the California Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and again before its Senate Transportation Committee in support of proposed legislation. Read his remarks below.

April 18th Nuvve CEO Testimony Supporting SB233

“Chairman Bradford and Senate Committee members… my name is Gregory Poilasne.

As CEO of Nuvve—a proud California company and the world’s leader in bidirectional vehicle-to-grid technology—I’m here in support of Senate Bill 233 and to share my knowledge on vehicle to grid—or V2G—technology and adoption.

Turning EVs into mobile storage is critical to provide the flexibility our grid needs. This strategy complements California’s stationary storage goals and is a hedge against potential supply chain challenges and other factors that may affect them.

My company, Nuvve, has unmatched real-world expertise in bidirectional charging.

Today, in California, we’re helping 10 school districts use V2G to reduce the cost of electrifying their fleets and giving them more money for student instruction while supporting clean transportation and renewable penetration. These projects include V2G integration with three different school bus manufacturers. So, it can be done!

Five of our California projects are in Senate Districts represented by members of this committee: districts 1, 14 and 26.

In San Diego, during last year’s historic 10-day heatwave, the Cajon Valley Union School District used our V2G platform to help keep the lights on. Now, we have three V2G school bus fleets in San Diego County providing nearly 1MW of capacity for this summer’s Emergency Load Reduction Program. Nuvve is also in the process of deploying another 1.5MW in the LADWP territory, supporting the electrification of LAUSD school bus fleet.

We see V2G as an essential technology in order to achieve EV deployment goals while keeping energy cost equitable.

California must approach V2G the same way it has treated rooftop solar or EV adoption–with goals, incentives, and fostering stakeholder collaboration. SB 233 does all three and will help transform today’s kilowatts and megawatts of mobile grid storage into tomorrow’s gigawatts.

Thank you.”

April 25th Nuvve CEO Testimony Supporting SB233

“Chair Gonzales and Senate Committee members, my name is Gregory Poilasne.

Turning EVs into mobile storage is critical to provide the flexibility our grid needs and will dwarf stationary storage.

My company, Nuvve, has unmatched real-world expertise in bidirectional charging.

We have been running vehicle-to-grid operations with a variety of fleet vehicles for nearly 7 years. Each of the Nissan Leafs we have been using is generating an average of $220 per month by providing these grid services. We are measuring the battery health on a monthly basis, and no battery impact has been detected as expected by the multiple simulations that have been performed. This demonstrates that bidirectional EVs with the appropriate services are more affordable.

In San Diego, during last year’s historic 10-day heatwave, the Cajon Valley Unified School District used our V2G platform to help keep the lights on. Now, we have three V2G school bus fleets in San Diego County providing nearly 1MW of capacity for this summer’s Emergency Load Reduction Program. Nuvve is also in the process of deploying another 1.5MW in the LADWP territory, supporting the electrification of the LAUSD school bus fleet.

We see V2G as an essential technology in order to achieve EV deployment goals while keeping energy costs equitable.

With standardization already established, bidirectional capability through the DC plug does not require added hardware and, therefore, can be achieved without increasing the cost of an EV. And with the CEC currently establishing an interoperability test center, all the basic bricks are here to support the SB233 roll-out.

California must approach V2G the same way it has treated rooftop solar or EV adoption–with goals, incentives, and fostering stakeholder collaboration. SB 233 does all three and will help transform today’s megawatts of mobile grid storage into tomorrow’s gigawatts.

Thank you.”

Update on SB233

The Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee passed the bill on 4/18/23 with an amendment.
As of 4/25/23, the bill has has passed the CA Senate Transportation Committee by a vote of 11 to 3.
As of 5/18/23, the bill has passed the CA Senate Appropriations Committee by a vote of 5 to 2.
As of 5/30/23, the bill has passed the CA Senate by a vote of 29 to 9.
As of July 5, SB 233 passes the California Assembly’s Transportation Committee by a 9-to-4 vote

FAQs on Bidirectional EVs, V2G and SB233

1. Why should all new EVs in California be bidirectional EVs by 2030?

Bidirectional capability is essential to enable the benefits of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) for California’s clean energy and clean transportation future:

V2G supports grid resiliency by turning EV batteries into mobile storage.
V2G also accelerates EV adoption by lowering the total cost of ownership by enabling EV owners to earn revenue through electricity exports during times when the grid is under stress.
V2G is also essential to keep the cost of energy equitable by reducing grid investments to support the clean energy transition while supporting EV deployment

2. Will bidirectional technology be ready for broad commercial deployment by 2030 as required by SB233?

Nuvve has been deploying and managing bidirectional charging systems for over five years in Europe and the US. The technology is proven and ready to scale today. There’s work to be done on interoperability and infrastructure costs, among others, but from our perspective and experience, the technology is ready to meet the timeline for SB233. The 2030 timeline will allow EV manufacturers the time to integrate bidirectional capabilities into all of their vehicle offerings.

3. Does SB233 mandate bidirectional EVs be used for V2G?

SB233 does not mandate that all vehicles be used for vehicle-to-grid integration. What it does do is ensure that EVs be futureproofed so that investments made in 2030 onward are not obsolete just as the number of EVs and percentage of renewable energy on the grid are set to skyrocket.

4. Are bidirectional technologies too expensive for broad commercial deployment in EVs?

Bidirectional capability can be connected to the vehicle’s existing DC port without additional engineering or costs. The Nissan Leaf, one of the lowest-cost EVs on the market, has been bidirectional capable since 2013.

California and other states have made the decision to transition to electric vehicles to address the climate crisis. EVs will represent a huge future energy storage resource, but without investments in bidirectional charging, the financial and grid resiliency benefits of vehicle-to-grid electricity exports will not be realized.

Additionally, V2G can generate revenue by providing grid services when a vehicle is parked by turning the EV battery into a mobile storage resource for the grid. This reduces the total cost of EV ownership and avoids the need for additional utility-scale stationary storage and other grid investments, which keeps electricity rates from rising and makes the shift to EVs more economical and equitable for all Californians.

5. Are there standards for bidirectional EVs?

There are numerous efforts to accelerate the creation and approval of the necessary standards for bidirectional charging. We believe that there will be the necessary clarity before 2030 to provide the auto industry with what they need to bring bidirectional EVs to market. Almost every week, we hear new announcements from automakers planning to offer bidirectional EVs. Even Tesla recently announced their intent to make their EVs bidirectional in two years.

The school bus industry is proof that this can be done. Our partners, Blue Bird, BYD and Lion Electric, have incorporated V2G in many of their electric school bus models, and Nuvve is using these buses for V2G projects operating across the country today.

6. Couldn’t the grid get all the benefit it needs using just unidirectional chargers for V1G managed charging?

Nuvve also provides managed charging services, or V1G, using unidirectional chargers. Managed charging is a smart but partial solution. It doesn’t allow an EV or electric fleet owner to export electricity to generate revenue and reduce the cost of their EV or electric fleet. Bidirectional charging allows this which also accelerates EV adoption by lowering the total cost of ownership and giving consumers of all means an equitable opportunity to participate in the energy market.

Nor does managed charging provide the grid with the level of flexibility needed to decarbonize California’s energy and transportation systems. Several studies have found that V2G offers significant benefits beyond V1G. A study by the Electric Power Research Institute found that California could see $1 billion per year of grid benefits with V2G.

7. Other than schools and school buses, where else is Nuvve doing V2G?

In the US, we have V2G projects featuring bidirectional charging in 12 states and growing. These include Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Texas.

In the EU, we’ve had over 5 years continuously providing grid services in Denmark for a municipal fleet customer and the Danish equivalent of CAISO.

Nuvve’s GIVe platform is also used to provide grid services in Denmark, Norway, and Japan and V1G managed charging services.

8. New classes of consumer electric light-duty trucks can export electricity during a power outage from a blackout or a Public Safety Power Shutdown or they can power certain home or work equipment. Doesn’t that give consumers enough of a benefit without having to add the cost of V2G?

V2G provides EV and electric fleet owners and the grid with the greatest benefits of any vehicle-to-X technology. It provides grid resiliency by turning EV batteries into mobile storage so that they can produce electricity and not just consume it, particularly when the grid is under strain. It also accelerates EV adoption by lowering the total cost of ownership by enabling EV owners to earn revenue through electricity exports during times when the grid is under stress. V2G is also essential to keep the cost of energy equitable by reducing the need for investments in new utility-scale storage projects and other grid infrastructure, which supports broad EV deployment.

9. What is the impact on battery health and/or warranty?

Nuvve’s software protects the health and life of the battery. SB233 specifically calls upon the agencies to make sure that as they develop the final definition of “bidirectional capable,” they ensure that nothing (including warranty structure) precludes bidirectional operation. It is also relevant to note that this is a barrier that has already been overcome in the electric school bus industry, where several electric school buses on the market are already bidirectional capable. Nissan motors made the historic announcement last year that the use of bidirectional capabilities of the Leaf do not void the vehicle warranty.