BMW is giving new meaning to the phrase “Give Back.” Not with a nonprofit volunteer job for drivers but with ChargeScape, a new partnership with other automakers to give electric vehicle owners a way to get energy from the grid and back.
ChargeScape is a new entity created by BMW, Ford, and American Honda that provides a platform to connect manufacturers, electric utilities, and interested electric vehicle owners. By participating, EV owners can earn financial benefits by charging up their vehicles at scheduled “grid-friendly” times and eventually returning their stored energy to the electrical grid when demand is heaviest.
It’s pretty much understood that EVs are where the market is going, but now that range anxiety is less of a problem, how the grid will handle a huge influx of EVs is an emerging concern. ChargeScape is one innovative way BMW EV owners will be able to make a positive impact.
ChargeScape will provide secure energy data to electric utilities about participating EV owners’ batteries – aggregated demand response, how and when EV owners are charging, and when and how much-stored energy is available. BMW and its ChargeScape partners expect that many, if not most, BMW EV owners will want to participate and earn financial rewards. The benefit for utilities is access to a cost-efficient source of stored energy. It’s all about managing use and evening out demand to ensure a consistent flow of electrons where and when they are needed most.
According to ChargeScape’s partners, it also minimizes EV owners’ personal carbon footprints by allowing them to use energy supplied more by renewable sources like wind and solar power.
“Electric grid reliability and sustainability are the foundation for an EV-powered future,” is how BMW of North America’s VP of Engineering, Thomas Ruemenapp, put it. “ChargeScape aims to accelerate the expansion of smart charging and vehicle-to-everything solutions all over the country while increasing customer benefits, supporting the sustainability of the grid, and helping to maximize renewable energy usage. We’re proud to be a founding ChargeScape member and look forward to the opportunities this collaboration will create.”
Call it a winning automotive trifecta: the ChargeScape partners, BMW EV owners, and the electric grid.