Fermata Energy is proud to announce that it has been shortlisted as a finalist for the prestigious Reuters Events 2024 D.R.I.V.E Honours which celebrate innovation, commitment, impact and leadership within the automotive industry. The company's V2X technology that transforms electric vehicles into mobile power hubs has earned recognition in the Reducing Emissions category as an industry leader for driving sustainability, zero emission or net-zero goals within the automotive industry.

Fermata Energy Named a Finalist for Reuters Events 2024 D.R.I.V.E Honours in Reducing Emissions Category

Nissan has approved an enhanced bidirectional charger for use with Nissan LEAF, in collaboration with Fermata Energy. As the first mass-produced bidirectional-enabled electric vehicle, the Nissan LEAF is the only fully electric passenger vehicle in the U.S. able to supply energy to the grid

Nissan approves enhanced Fermata Energy FE-20 bidirectional charger and V2X Platform for use with Nissan LEAF

Fermata Energy is proud to announce its advisory role in a prestigious three-year research initiative funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project, Electric Vehicle Integration to power infrastructure by Behavioral, Economics, and Sociotechnical modeling (E-VIBES), is led by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Colorado-Denver, North Carolina State University, Gettysburg College, and Colorado Smart Cities Alliance. It aims to enhance the resilience and efficiency of America's infrastructure through Vehicle-Grid Integration (VGI) system development.

Fermata Energy Collaborates with NSF-Funded Research Team to Strengthen American Infrastructure through Vehicle-Grid Integration (VGI)

Fermata Energy, a leader in Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) bidirectional charging technology solutions, is honored to announce that it has been named an honoree in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas Awards’ Sustainability Category for 2024. The awards recognize innovation in products, concepts, companies and policies to make our world safer, cleaner, more sustainable and more equitable.

Fermata Energy Named Honoree in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas Awards 2024: Affordable Housing Vehicle-to-Grid Pilot Receives Honorable Mention in Sustainability Category

Fermata Energy, Xcel Energy, City of Boulder, Colorado CarShare and Boulder Housing Partners announced a collaborative Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) bidirectional charging pilot project at Boulder Housing Partners’ 30 Pearl development and the Molly's Spirits Lakeside facility. This innovative V2X pilot program transforms parked EVs into mobile power units, advancing grid resilience and reducing electric bill costs while supporting underserved communities and local businesses.

Fermata Energy and Xcel Energy Announce Transformative Vehicle-to-Everything Bidirectional Charging Pilot

John Deere Announces Its 2024 Startup Collaborators

Fermata Energy Appoints Alexandra (Alex) Cattelan as Chief Operating Officer to Spearhead Growth and Innovation

Inc. Magazine Honors Fermata Energy with 2023 Best in Business Award

Fermata Energy Announces  Integration with BorgWarner Bidirectional Chargers

Canada’s First Bidirectional EV Charging Hub Launches in British Columbia

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA) and project partners Fermata Energy and The Lion Electric Company (NYSE: LEV) (TSX: LEV) (“Lion Electric”) a $3 million grant for an innovative Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) project. This initiative is set to bring grid-supporting and cost-saving V2G solutions for services provided by American Transportation to California school districts, marking a significant step forward in energy management and the transition to electric school buses.

California Energy Commission Awards a $3 Million Grant to BorgWarner, Fermata Energy and Lion Electric for Innovative Vehicle-to-Grid Project with Bus Operator American Transportation to Service Student Transportation for California School Districts

Chevy Volt Innovator Tony Posawatz Named as CEO of Fermata Energy

Claire Weiller joins Innovate UK at EVS36 to advance global V2X

Meet with George Miller at EVS36 in the CHAdeMO Association booth

Come see Fermata Energy at the ACT Expo at Booth #6911

Scott Brierley will speak at the ACT to discuss how our V2G installations are saving municipalities money today

Newlab at Michigan Central is for startups working toward a future of mobility

Two EVs at Plymouth State University delivered 1 MWh of energy with Fermata Energy bidirectional EV charging platform

Glenn will be speaking at the EPRI, Infrastructure Working Council (IWC) to discuss lessons learned from V2G deployments

Watch - The Fully Charged Podcast | Earn Money While You Park with Professor David Slutzky

EnergyHub and Fermata Energy partner to enable utilities to accelerate EVs as grid-edge resources

Join Brian Zelis at the annual NYC DCAS fleet show and learn more about V2G 

Amazon and Walmart are creating huge demand for electric trucks and vans

The dream of transactive energy tariffs for microgrids inches forward

Melissa Chan will be speaking at the 2023 NH Energy Week to discuss how New Hampshire can encourage V2G deployment through rate design and utility incentives

Solar installers: Add EV charger installation to your services now

Department of Energy announces first of its kind collaboration to accelerate "Vehicle-to-Everything" technologies

Earn revenue with bidirectional charging from Fermata Energy

Fermata Energy Expands Its Leadership Team to Meet the Growing Demand for V2X Technology

Claire Weiller joins Fermata Energy as Director of European Strategic Partnerships

Fermata Energy named one of the Tech Tribune’s 2022 Best Tech Startups in Charlottesville

Is ​‘Vehicle-to-everything’ charging ready for prime time?

Why Vehicle-to-building and virtual power plants could beef-up commercial operations

Meet the 14 entrepreneurs vying to break into the $207.5 billion electric car charging industry as EVs finally take off

GSA announces three new electric vehicle charging pilots at Denver Federal Center

Green proving ground program selects innovative technologies that enable transition to net-zero carbon

The next tool in the climate toolbox: Your parked EV

Wells Fargo innovation incubator announces its first demonstration cohort

Toyota Motor North America (Toyota) and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), a Southern California-based public utility that serves 3.7 million people, announced today that they have agreed to collaborate on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) research for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) using a Toyota bZ4X and Fermata Energy’s bidirectional charger and V2G platform. 

Toyota Expands Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Research with San Diego Gas & Electric Company Collaboration

How to turn an electric vehicle battery Into a miniature power plant for your home

Qmerit partners with Fermata Energy to accelerate Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) solutions for commercial, multi-family and utility customers

Fermata Energy’s Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology lowers energy costs and increases renewable energy use for the City of Boulder, Colorado

Department of Energy wants to know: How can EVs give back to 'the grid'?

Bidirectional charging could be the next evolution of EVs

EVs: The next grid battery for renewables?

See the cutting-edge tech turning government buildings into lean, green machines

First-in-Nation Pilot to Provide Low-Income Driver with Affordable Access to EV Launched in Boston by BlueHub Energy, Fermata Energy, Enterprise Holdings, and Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp.

First-in-Nation Pilot to Provide Affordable Access to EV

George Miller joins BorgWarner booth at the Green Bus Summit

Fermata Energy, a leading pioneer in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, reveals that its FE-20 bidirectional charging system is fully certified to UL 9741, the Standard for Bidirectional EV Charging System Equipment and UL 1741-SA, the Standard for Inverters, Converters, Controllers and Interconnection System Equipment for Use With Distributed Energy Resources, Supplement SA.

Fermata Energy's FE-20 Bidirectional EV Charger and V2G Software Platform Achieves UL 9741 and UL 1741 SA Certifications

Phoenix Motor Inc. (Nasdaq: PEV) and Fermata Energy LLC, today announced the successful integration of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) capabilities for all medium-duty electric vehicles manufactured by Phoenix Motorcars. 

Phoenix Motorcars Enables V2G Capability in Partnership with Fermata Energy for all Bus & Truck Customers

Reddit’s Chief Technology Officer to bring leadership and experience to the scaling of V2X technology

Marty Weiner joins Fermata Energy’s advisory board

Roacky Mountain PBS: During extreme heat, Denver company uses electric cars to help cool its building

Can a garage full of Revel taxis stop the next blackout?

This New England utility will soon pay EV owners to help to back up the grid

From electric school buses to Nissan Leafs, can vehicle-to-grid technology accelerate the clean-energy revolution?

Electric vehicles charging back with V2G technology

Governor Whitmer announces grants to bolster mobility industry and increase accessibility in the state

Meet Fermata Energy at Distributech in San Diego, Verizon booth #4216

Verizon and Newlab incubate 7 startups to leverage 5G networks

Celebrating the car that sparked the electric vehicle revolution, 25 years later

Claire Weiller will be attending the AIT FORUM - Accelerating mobility transitions

Solar Power World: What is bidirectional EV charging?

Biden plan to electrify federal fleet will boost EV market, but many questions remain, experts say

Scott Brierley, who led Nissan’s V2X bidirectional charging initiative, joins Fermata Energy as 
Director of Automotive and Strategic Partnerships

Fermata Energy Pushes the Envelope to Make Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Technology Mainstream in Electric Vehicles

Vehicle-to-Grid technology saves $950 in 4 months

How vehicle-to-grid technology could disrupt energy storage investment as we know it

‘Proving the Concept’: Roanoke Electric Tests Innovative EV-to-Grid Charger

Fermata Energy Selected for Google’s Startups Accelerator for Climate Change

Phoenix Motorcars & Fermata Energy Form Long-Term Partnership for V2X Bidirectional Charging

V2G bidirectional chargers at New England’s largest energy storage and hydroelectric facility will support the integration of renewable energy and grid stability during peak load hours.

FirstLight Power, Fermata Energy, and Skyview Ventures partner to launch first ever Vehicle-to-Grid charging platform in Western Massachusetts

Green Car Congress: Nissan approves first bi-directional charger for use with Nissan LEAF in the US; Fermata Energy FE-15 charger

Vehicle-to-building (V2B) pilot installed by Fermata Energy at Bigelow Tea’s Louisville facility

Bigelow Tea Working to Reduce Carbon Footprint, One Electric Vehicle at a Time

Conference highlights ways P.E.I. could learn from Danish island’s fight against climate change

Fermata Energy raises $40M in 2021, including a Series A Round led by The Carlyle Group

George Miller will be speaking at the EV Charging Infrastructure Conference and Exhibition in Long Beach Marriott, California

Heliox introduces a 20kW bidirectional V2X charger that uses Fermata Energy’s software platform to put energy back on the grid when the car is parked.

Heliox and Fermata Energy Forge Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), Smart Energy Management Partnership

Green Car Reports: Each EV with V2G charger might earn $15,000 over 10 years

Roanoke Electric Cooperative to Pilot Cutting-edge Vehicle-to-grid Technology

Melissa Chan joins Fermata Energy as Director of Grid Solutions and Strategic Partnerships

Fermata Energy leadership team grows in tandem with interest in EV charging infrastructure

Bidirectional EVs could lend a hand in power crisis

Join Melissa Chan at AESP annual conference

Glenn Skutt, PhD, is on Panel for the First Annual V2G Business Policy & Technology Forum in Los Angeles, CA

Glenn Skutt, PhD, is on the Panel for the First Annual V2G Business Policy & Technology Forum in Los Angeles, CA

Fermata Energy, the nation’s leader in proven vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, recently named Brian Zelis as National Sales Director.

Driving the future toward Vehicle-to-X (V2X), Fermata Energy expands Its team

Cosmin Dumitrescu is speaking at the Smart Energy Summit in Austin, Texas

Batteries on Wheels: The electric vehicle connection to the grid that could help decarbonize utility power

Fermata Energy announces $2.5M strategic investment from TEPCO ventures

A Win-Win Situation: FM Opportunities in Bidirectional EV Charging

Nissan taps Fermata Energy for Nissan Energy share pilot

Revel, NineDot Energy and Fermata Energy announce groundbreaking Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) partnership

Fermata Energy expands its leadership team, adding Jack Pfeiffer as data scientist

Government, Labor, Industry Leaders to announce first of its kind collaborative to accelerate “Vehicle-to-Everything” technologies

Verizon and AWS expand by more than 30% the number of metro area locations with mobile edge computing

Virtual Peaker Partners with Fermata Energy to Bring V2G Bidirectional Vehicle Charging Technology to Utilities

Virtual Peaker partners with Fermata Energy to bring V2G bidirectional vehicle charging technology to utilities

Bigelow Tea enhances sustainability with a Vehicle-to-Grid system

Proven results and cost savings with V2G technology

Ford and Newlab announce startups to pilot new electric vehicle tech in mobility innovation program

How V2G can support the grid and help pay back electric vehicle owners (from Auto Futures)

How V2X works

V2X solutions

Utilities

Knowledge hub

Newsroom

Company

link title

bigelow-tea-nissan-leaf-ev.png

Brochures

Glossary

Frequently asked questions

groovy.png

sample.pdf

This article originally appeared in the November-December 2021 edition of FMJ Magazine.

By David Slutzky, Co-founder, President, and CEO of Fermata Energy

Facilities management is fraught with many challenges — including controlling costs and budgets, improving efficiency, analyzing data, and maintaining resilience — all while meeting the baseline needs of the building occupants. Add to this list the increasing electrical loads resulting from workplace electric vehicle (EV) charging, and the path to effective facilities management becomes that much more difficult to navigate.

Picture for a moment, however, an EV-centric solution that helps to solve the challenges outlined above. Bidirectional electric vehicles — from light-duty passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks and buses — can benefit building owners, fleet operators and utilities by reducing the cost of building electricity and EV charging, as well as creating revenue streams by providing various services back to the electric grid.

Furthermore, EVs enabled with bidirectionality (the ability to charge and discharge) can enhance grid resilience and harden building assets against natural disasters and the effects of climate change. Bidirectional charging can also help organizations realize their goals of decarbonizing building operations and transportation.

At this point, it is worth diving into more detail about what bidirectional charging is and what it is not. While most people are familiar with the concept of EV charging, which is most often done using a “unidirectional” (i.e., one way) charger, bidirectional charging entails precisely what it implies: the ability to both charge and discharge an EV battery using the same charger. 

Generally speaking, in order to facilitate bidirectional charging, three key elements are required: a bidirectionally capable EV; a compatible bidirectional charger; and software capable of managing the charging activities to ensure adequate charge in the vehicle while making it possible for the vehicle to earn money while it is parked. When operating together, this system allows facilities managers and fleet operators to tap into the electrical energy stored in an EV’s battery at peak-load times to help reduce electricity costs and consumption from non-renewable sources.

Commonly known as vehicle-to-everything (V2X), the EV, bidirectional charger, and software collectively leverage energy stored in an EV’s battery to supply power to the electric grid (vehicle-to-grid/V2G), to a building (vehicle-to-building/V2B) at specific times of the day, or even as emergency back-up power or for rate arbitrage.

To illustrate how this works, imagine a bidirectionally capable EV — which can be thought of as a swimming pool filled with electrical energy instead of water — is connected to a compatible bidirectional charger functioning as a “two-way valve” of sorts that opens and closes as needed to allow the filling and emptying of the EV’s “energy reservoir” in response to electricity demand. 

Serving as the brains of the operation is software that monitors, for example, a building’s electricity loads in near-real time and forecasts peak loads based on a number of factors, including historical electricity usage and weather conditions. When the software determines an increase in peak load is imminent — such as when a building’s chiller plant turns on — it will tell the charger to discharge the optimal amount of energy from the EV’s battery to offset the peak load. Doing so in this manner has the effect of reducing costly demand charges that often result from increased demand and peak loads.

In addition to this type of “behind-the-meter” activity, V2X allows the user to participate in energy markets by engaging in utility demand response programs, monetizing an EV’s battery storage and dramatically reducing the building’s cost of electricity. For example, a case study by ESource in October of 2020 verified that during the first month of a V2B demonstration project in Danville, Virginia, less than half of a Nissan LEAF’s battery energy was dispatched over a single 15-minute peak period, while saving the building owner almost $192 in utility demand charges. 

Today, V2X is being successfully demonstrated in real-world environments at multiple sites across the United States. Recent V2G pilot projects involve utilities such as Green Mountain Power in Vermont and the Roanoke Electric Cooperative in North Carolina. 

Similarly, a number of V2B projects are supporting municipal, fleet, and general building operations with the City of Boulder and The Alliance Center, both in Colorado, the Electric Frog Company in Rhode Island, and Nissan North America at its headquarters in Tennessee. 

Although Nissan’s popular LEAF has garnered most of the attention when it comes to EVs capable of bidirectional charging, multiple vehicle OEMs are bringing bidirectionally enabled vehicles to the market next year, and several medium- and heavy-duty EVs will also be equipped with this feature soon. 

An example of this can be found in electric school buses. Given that school buses of any type are generally dormant in the middle of the day and during summer breaks, periods of time when the grid can experience substantially increased demand and instability, electric school buses have the potential to unlock significant monetization, resilience, and grid-stabilization opportunities. In addition, electric school buses are simply healthier for the driver and student riders from an emissions standpoint, and offer economic benefits to school districts in terms of reduced maintenance costs when compared to traditional diesel-powered buses. 

Earlier this year, Maryland’s Montgomery County Schools took practical steps to adopt V2X‑capable electric school buses by signing an agreement with Highland Electric Transportation. Under this arrangement, Highland will essentially provide the district with electric buses in collaboration with Thomas Built buses. Highland will then manage the electric bus fleet, ensuring that they are charged and ready to go each day without disruption, and discharge energy from those buses when they are parked during the day or over summer breaks to lower demand charges or feed power back into the grid as needs arise.

As evidenced by substantial reductions in costly demand charges and with its ability to provide energy resilience and grid stabilization, V2X is proving to be an intelligent and cost-efficient means of supporting facilities, building operations and fleet management. 

In addition to pilots and growing commercial demand in the U.S., there are a number of international V2X applications underway. In Japan, for example, vehicle-to-home (V2H) has been in relatively widespread use since 2012, which to a large extent was prompted by the effects of the tsunami that disrupted the power grid in many parts of that country the prior year. During the recovery efforts that followed, EVs demonstrated the ability to deliver power where it was needed, so much so that many Japanese automakers now offer a V2H outlet in their EVs sold in Japan.

Other V2X activities in Japan include a joint V2G demonstration project comprised of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Hitachi Systems Power Services and other key stakeholders, which was kicked off in August of 2020. The key focus of this project, which was made possible by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry through its Sustainable Open Innovation Initiative, is to study general EV-grid interoperability and to demonstrate how battery EVs and plug-in EVs can be leveraged as Virtual Power Plants (VPP) to help stabilize the grid as the volume of renewable energy sources come online.

As with Japan, Europe is recognizing the value of V2X in a multitude of applications and, as a result, considers the technology key in helping to satisfy the continent’s future energy requirements. In 2020, for example, Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA), initiated a V2G pilot program at its manufacturing facility in Mirafiori, Italy. According to FCA, 700 bidirectional chargers will be installed at the complex by the end of 2021, enabling up to 25MW of power to be discharged from FCA’s EVs to support grid stabilization. 

Similar to the previously mentioned V2B pilot project at its North American headquarters, Nissan is investigating the technical and commercial viability of V2G at its European Technical Center in Cranfield, United Kingdom (UK). It is hoped that the project, which is funded in part by Innovate UK, the “innovation arm” of the UK government, will prove out sustainable technologies and business models for EV fleets based in the UK.

Reflecting the ever-growing interest that other European automakers are showing in V2X, Audi announced last year its intent to study and develop V2H capabilities. For this application, a V2H-enabled Audi EV could serve as a storage medium for solar energy generated throughout the day by residential photovoltaic panels. Then, later in the evening, when people have come home from work to make dinner and watch TV, and grid demand and electricity rates can remain high, the EV can power the home, thereby reducing electricity costs and alleviating some measure of demand on the grid.

In addition to the more traditional behind-the-meter or in-front-of-the-meter V2X applications, such as demand-charge management, demand response, frequency regulation, and grid stabilization, V2G has been identified as an ideal complement to existing renewable energy sources. For example, if Germany’s wind farms in the Baltic generate too much electricity, the energy produced can be stored in EVs until it is needed at a later time to satisfy power shortages or an increase in grid demand throughout Germany.

With V2X, an EV becomes valuable beyond its initial intended use as clean transportation, and when integrated into a building’s energy management system, it becomes a powerful tool in solving many of the key challenges facing today’s facility managers.

If you would like to explore the possibilities of V2X technology for your facilities, please visit https://www.fermataenergy.com or email info@fermataenergy.com.

Park it. Plug it. Profit.TM Fermata Energy’s proprietary vehicle-to-everything (V2X) software platform and bidirectional chargers turn EVs into mobile energy storage assets, making it possible for EVs owners to combat climate change, increase energy resilience, and reduce energy costs. Learn more at www.fermataenergy.com, and follow us on Twitter (@FermataEnergy) and LinkedIn.