General Motors this week announced plans to expand the availability of bidirectional charging to cover all electric vehicles based on the Ultium platform and battery technology set by the 2026 model year.
The first vehicles to feature it will be the 2024 Silverado EV, 2024 Blazer EV, and 2024 Equinox EV from Chevrolet; the 2024 Lyriq and upcoming 2025 Escalade IQ from Cadillac; and the 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali.
GM said the availability of bidirectional charging in other vehicles will be announced in due course.
The announcement comes just months after GM announced plans to adopt Tesla's proprietary North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector on all of its EVs by 2025, to replace the Combined Charging System (CCS) connector it currently uses.
GM Energy
Having bidirectional charging, often referred to as vehicle-to-grid or vehicle-to-home charging, means a vehicle can act as a power source by discharging electricity, for instance to charge another EV, power tools or machinery on a work site, or power a home during a blackout or peak usage rates when electricity prices are at their highest. This last factor can especially be beneficial to a homeowner if their EV is charged using solar energy.
GM plans to offer hardware and software products related to bidirectional charging via its GM Energy division announced last fall. These will include a kit that can safely disconnect the home from the grid and enable up to 9.6 kw of discharge power from a compatible EV. Also available will be access to the GM Energy Cloud, a software platform that will allow users to manage the transfer of energy from the vehicle to a device or home. The software can be set up so it ensures there's always a minimum state of charge in the vehicle so the owner won't be stuck if he or she needs to suddenly drive somewhere.
“By integrating (bidirectional charging) across our entire Ultium-based portfolio, we are making this groundbreaking technology available to more consumers, with benefits that extend well beyond the vehicle itself, and at broader scale than ever before.” Wade Sheffer, GM Energy's vice president, said in a statement.
