First live demonstration of bi-directional charging since launch of the federal cross-sector collaboration initiative to rapidly commercialize technology
Photos and b-roll available here
Today San Diego Gas & Electric announced that it has successfully deployed an innovative technology that enables eight electric school buses to put electricity back on the grid when needed such as on hot summer days. A collaborative effort between SDG&E, the Cajon Valley Union School District and locally based technology company Nuvve, this is the first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) project to become operational in Southern California, helping to advance clean air and climate goals while also bolstering grid reliability.
This is also the first V2G project to come online in the nation, following the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) vehicle-to-everything (V2X) initiative announcement in Los Angeles in April. SDG&E, which started on the project prior to the announcement, is a signatory to the department’s V2X memorandum of understanding (MOU). The agreement is designed to bring together resources from DOE National Labs, state and local governments, utilities, and private entities to unlock the potential of bi-directional charging to increase energy security, community resilience, and economic growth while supporting the nation’s electric system.
As part of the five-year pilot project, SDG&E installed six 60kW bi-directional DC fast chargers at Cajon Valley’s bus yard in El Cajon. The pilot was celebrated at an event on Tuesday, July 26 with project partners and San Diego County District Two Supervisor Joel Anderson.
“This pilot project is a great example of our region being at the forefront of testing and adopting innovative technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the electric grid,” SDG&E Vice President of Energy Innovation Miguel Romero said. “Electric fleets represent a vast untapped energy storage resource and hold immense potential to benefit our customers and community not just environmentally, but also financially and economically.”
On average, cars are parked 95% of the time. California is home to 1.1 million EVs, the largest concentration of EVs in the nation. Starting in 2035, all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California are required to be zero-emissions. Many local agencies and local companies are working to transition to electric fleets under SDG&E’s Power Your Drive for Fleets program, which provides infrastructure support. In addition to Cajon Valley, SDG&E is also working with San Diego Unified and Ramona Unified School Districts on V2G projects.
“Pilots like these are critical to advancing industry knowledge and commercialization of new technologies that help create jobs and build a clean energy future,” said Office of Technology Transitions Commercialization Executive Rima Oueid. “I am thrilled to see this project go live less than three months after the DOE launched our V2X initiative, validating the value of public-private partnership.”
With the bi-directional chargers now in operation, Cajon Valley can participate in SDG&E’s new Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP), which pays business customers $2/kWh if they are able to export energy to the grid or reduce energy use during grid emergencies.
“We jumped at the opportunity to be part of this pilot project because of its potential to help us build a healthier community and better serve our students,” said Assistant Superintendent Scott Buxbaum. “If we are able to reduce our energy and vehicle maintenance costs as a result of this project, it frees up more resources for our schools and students.”
V2G technology works by allowing batteries onboard vehicles to charge up during the day when energy, particularly renewable energy such as solar is abundant. The batteries then discharge clean electricity back to the grid during peak hours or other periods of high demand.
“School buses are an excellent use case for V2G,” said Nuvve Co-Founder, Chair and CEO Gregory Poilasne. “They hold larger batteries than standard vehicles and can spend peak solar hours parked and plugged into bi-directional chargers. Nuvve’s technology enables the grid to draw energy from a bus when it is needed most, yet still ensuring the bus has enough stored power to operate when needed.”
This V2G project is part of SDG&E’s extensive portfolio of clean transportation and fleet electrification initiatives. To learn more about SDG&E’s Power Your Drive for Fleet programs, please visit sdge.com/fleets.
SDG&E is an innovative San Diego-based energy company that provides clean, safe and reliable energy to better the lives of the people it serves in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The company is committed to creating a sustainable future by providing its electricity from renewable sources; modernizing energy infrastructure; accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles; supporting numerous non-profit partners; and, investing in innovative technologies to ensure the reliable operation of the region’s infrastructure for generations to come. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE). For more information, visit SDGEnews.com or connect with SDG&E on Twitter (@SDGE), Instagram (@SDGE) and Facebook.
Cajon Valley Union School District focuses on the positivity of each student's unique strengths, interests, and values. Recently showcased during the National Safe School Reopening Summit, Cajon Valley has garnered national recognition as a leader in educational excellence and innovation. Serving over 60 square miles of San Diego's East County, Cajon Valley Union School District offers personalized education, with programs that develop students into happy kids, healthy relationships, on a path to gainful employment, making El Cajon the best place to live, work, play and raise a family. Visit our website at www.cajonvalley.net.
Nuvve Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: NVVE) is leading the electrification of the planet, beginning with transportation, through its intelligent energy platform. Combining the world’s most advanced vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology and an ecosystem of electrification partners, Nuvve dynamically manages power among electric vehicle (EV) batteries and the grid to deliver new value to EV owners, accelerate the adoption of EVs, and support the world’s transition to clean energy. By transforming EVs into mobile energy storage assets and networking battery capacity to support shifting energy needs, Nuvve is making the grid more resilient, enhancing sustainable transportation, and supporting energy equity in an electrified world. Since its founding in 2010, Nuvve has successfully deployed V2G on five continents and offers turnkey electrification solutions for fleets of all types. Nuvve is headquartered in San Diego, Calif. and can be found online at nuvve.com.
Nuvve and associated logos are among the trademarks of Nuvve and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
Nuvve Forward-Looking Statements
The information in this press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, regarding Nuvve and Nuvve’s strategy, future operations, estimated and projected financial performance, prospects, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words “could,” “should,” “will,” “may,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” the negative of such terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, Nuvve disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release. Nuvve cautions you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Nuvve. In addition, Nuvve cautions you that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to the following factors: (i) risks related to the rollout of Nuvve’s business and the timing of expected business milestones; (ii) Nuvve’s dependence on widespread acceptance and adoption of electric vehicles and increased installation of charging stations; (iii) Nuvve’s ability to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting (iv) Nuvve’s current dependence on sales of charging stations for most of its revenues; (v) overall demand for electric vehicle charging and the potential for reduced demand if governmental rebates, tax credits and other financial incentives are reduced, modified or eliminated or governmental mandates to increase the use of electric vehicles or decrease the use of vehicles powered by fossil fuels, either directly or indirectly through mandated limits on carbon emissions, are reduced, modified or eliminated; (vi) potential adverse effects on Nuvve’s backlog, revenue and gross margins if customers increasingly claim clean energy credits and, as a result, they are no longer available to be claimed by Nuvve; (vii) the effects of competition on Nuvve’s future business; (viii) risks related to Nuvve’s dependence on its intellectual property and the risk that Nuvve’s technology could have undetected defects or errors; (ix) the risk that we conduct a portion of our operations through a joint venture exposes us to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control; (x) that our joint venture with Levo Mobility LLC may fail to generate the expected financial results, and the return may be insufficient to justify our investment of effort and/or funds; (xi) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (xii) the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect directly on Nuvve and the economy generally; (xiii) risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to our joint ventures; (xiv) risks relating to privacy and data protection laws, privacy or data breaches, or the loss of data; (xv) the possibility that Nuvve may be adversely affected by 3 other economic, business, and/or competitive factors, including increased inflation and interest rates, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine; and (xvi) risks related to the benefits expected from the $1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 3684). Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties described in this press release materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact the operations and projections discussed herein can be found in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by Nuvve with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 31, 2022, and in the other reports that Nuvve has, and will file from time to time with the SEC. Nuvve’s SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.