DOE Announces Expansion of the Extended Vehicle-to-Everything MOU

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions proudly announced an extension to the Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), featuring an additional nine signatories of support. This is the fourth round of signatories, reaffirming DOE’s commitment and growing the collaboration between public and private sectors. The MOU now extends through April 2027 and will continue to inform DOE’s strategy to support an evolving resilient and cyber secure grid. 

“We are so excited to add this new round of signatories and support the development of a V2X playbook,” said DOE Chief Commercialization Officer Vanessa Chan. DOE Office of Technology Transitions Senior Commercialization Executive Rima Oueid added, “The V2X collaboration could inform rate design, as well as a more resilient and secure energy grid. Developing the market dynamics is essential to help pave the way for transactive energy and enable a more resilient democratized energy grid. A bidirectional grid that harnesses the immense battery capacity of aggregated electric vehicles to provide power, frequency regulation, and even black start capability could serve as the foundation for dynamic grid permutations and virtual power plants capable of withstanding sophisticated attacks and extreme weather threats using market forces.” 

In a recent Time Magazine article, DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm stated, “One solution I’m eager to try is to turn my electric vehicle into a virtual power plant, or VPP. Picture this: it’s a summer Friday, you just got home from work, and your EV is charging in the garage. But when it’s hot out—electricity demand and rates are peaking. If your utility runs a VPP program, you can let them use your EV battery as a temporary clean energy source for your A/C, your TV, even the grid itself.” The V2X MOU aims to make this a reality.  

The latest signatories to the V2X MOU include dcbel, Bidirectional Energy, NYC School Bus Umbrella Services, Kaluza, Landis+Gyr, MassCEC, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, City of Alexandria Virginia, and The Climate Center. 

•  "At Bidirectional Energy, we believe that there is a battery in every driveway that can be utilized to provide grid support as transportation electrification continues to accelerate. V2X unlocks the ability to decarbonize our energy system while providing economic and resilience value to EV drivers,” said Bidirectional Energy Founder and CEO Frances Bell.
• “NYCSBUS is proud to work with leaders across the United States to promote the potential for the batteries in our school buses to do double duty, getting kids to school in clean electric buses and supporting the electric grid while we transition our energy infrastructure. We also see V2G as a way to subsidize our investment in electric buses, which means we can buy more, or divert more resources to textbooks and teacher salaries,” said CEO of NYC School Bus Umbrella Services, Inc Matt Berlin.  
• "Cars have always been associated with freedom. EVs take things to the next level, delivering freedom even when parked in the driveway," said dcbel Head of Ecosystems Dan Fletcher. "Thanks to dcbel's pioneering technology, homeowners can leverage their EV to increase their energy independence - whether they need to power their home for days during a blackout, perform energy-intensive tasks like cooking dinner to circumvent peak time-of-use pricing, or earn money from the export of EV energy during times of grid distress. dcbel is excited to collaborate with the Department of Energy and other distinguished signatories of this MOU to demonstrate how V2X will play a crucial role in smart home energy." 
• “Kaluza is excited to join this V2X MOU with the US Department of Energy, leveraging our expertise in smart energy management to accelerate V2X adoption. By turning electric vehicles into vital grid assets, we can enhance energy resilience and empower customers to actively participate in the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future. Our innovative V2X solutions have proven to be a win-win-win for customers, the grid and the planet. We look forward to bringing our market-leading insights, including key learnings from the world’s largest residential V2G project, to this partnership," said Kaluza U.S. and Japan Managing Director Jonathan Levy. 
• “The grid edge is becoming more complex than ever before. This calls for a collaborative approach to solving for load growth and reliability issues across the United States. The DOE's V2X MOU cohort is a key tool to commercializing and coordinating technologies that deliver value from a distributed energy resource with immense potential: Bidirectional Electric Vehicles. Landis+Gyr is proud to support the next wave of innovative smart energy management,” said Landis+Gyr Chief Technology Officer Amith Kota. 
• The City of Alexandria stated, "As part of our Smart Mobility Program and our commitment to driving sustainability and innovation within the community, the City of Alexandria is thrilled to announce its participation in this collaborative initiative. This partnership with the Department of Energy and its national labs provides new opportunities to learn more and better plan for future technologies that strengthen our transportation network." 
• "Acceleration of vehicle-to-grid technology can help reduce reliance on polluting fossil fuels," said Climate Center CEO Ellie Cohen. "With more aggressive V2G policy, we can replace polluting gas peaker plants with mobile batteries to keep the lights on and stabilize the power grid, saving consumers and ratepayers billions."  
• “Vehicle-To-Everything technology has the potential to make EVs more affordable while increasing grid resiliency,” said MassCEC CEO Emily Reichert. “This important partnership will allow us to fast-track implementation in Massachusetts—bringing us one step closer to our clean energy future.”  
• “New Jersey has a proud heritage of innovation, and through our partnership in the V2X MOU collaborative, we are excited to add another chapter in that story. The V2X MOU extension will help New Jersey access the synergies of bidirectional power flow from electric vehicles to help make distributed energy technologies more affordable,” said NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “We are excited about our participation in this cutting-edge collaborative.” 

Participants in the original V2X MOU include DOE’s Offices of Vehicle Technologies, Electricity, Technology Transitions, and Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, as well as The California Energy Commission, The California Public Utilities Commission, The City of Lancaster and City of Lancaster Community Choice Aggregator, The City of Los Angeles, Fermata Energy, First Student, Ford Motor Company, General Motors LLC, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers– Chapter 11, Lion Electric Inc., Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Lucid Group, Inc. (Lucid Motors), the National Electrical Contractors Association – Los Angeles, Nissan, Nuvve Holding Corp., Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Rhombus, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, Zeem Solutions, Blue Bird, Honda, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, Shell, and Revel, Stellantis, Sunnova, Weavegrid, Wallbox, Peak Power, Phoenix Motorcars, Patero, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and Vehicle Grid Integration Council (VGIC).  

For more information or to learn how to partner with us, please contact Rima Oueid, DOE’s V2X MOU lead and OTT Senior Commercialization Executive via email to Rima.Oueid@hq.doe.gov.  

 About the Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions 

The Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) plays a pivotal role in expanding the public impact of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) portfolio. Founded in 2015, OTT aids in developing and overseeing the delivery of DOE's strategic vision and goals for technology commercialization and business and industrial sector engagement across the nation. Visit us at energy.gov/ott to learn more, and subscribe to receive our latest opportunities and accomplishments via email. Follow us on X and LinkedIn. 

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