Energy discharged from the buses’ batteries will now be available to support electric grid resilience

District and school administrators hosted a ceremony on August 7th to celebrate the successful implementation of their new vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging system at the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) Transportation Yard. The event was co-presented by The Mobility House, and included project partners World Resources Institute, Center for Transportation and the Environment, and Polara.

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The Mobility House presents Fremont Unified School District Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) District Unveiling. Celebrating the opening of one of the first V2G school bus depots in PG&E territory. Photo credit: The Mobility House, by Rich McKie

“Electric school buses, with their large batteries and predictable schedules, have tremendous potential to support the electric grid with V2G,” said Gregor Hintler, CEO North America of The Mobility House. “We are proud to provide the technology that enables the district to drive clean and support community energy resilience.”

The commissioning represented phase one of a two-phase project which will include six bidirectional chargers, enabled for V2G participation in demand response with Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) by The Mobility House’s ChargePilot® charge management system for fleets and utility-facing market aggregation platform.

“This project is a shining example of how innovation creates a cleaner, smarter energy future,” said Mike Delaney, Vice President, Utility Partnership and Innovation, PG&E. “We’re proud to support Fremont USD and school districts across California as they convert to better, electrified student transportation.”

Here’s how it works:

• ChargePilot manages daily smart charging of the buses, controlled and monitored by the fleet operator in an intuitive online dashboard.
• The market aggregation platform receives notifications from PG&E of an upcoming load reduction event via OpenADR, and suggests optimal charging schedules based on the event and time-of-use electricity prices.
• ChargePilot adjusts charging optimization for the bus fleet to discharge power to reduce site load during the emergency event, while continuing to ensure vehicle readiness for departure on their next route.
• By participating in ELRP, the fleet can greatly offset charging costs, making operations more efficient and cost-effective.

The Mobility House continuously develops its technical capabilities and programs to coordinate with utility programs for fleet vehicle-grid-integration and V2G in California and beyond, including demand response programs and dynamic rates available in other states including Massachusetts and New York.

“We’ve already seen how the electric buses can contribute to cleaner air for our community,” said Ernest Epley, FUSD’s Director of Transportation. “Now, we have the opportunity to use these buses to deliver clean and reliable energy too.”

The V2G infrastructure project was funded by a grant from the California Energy Commission’s Clean Transportation Program.

About The Mobility House

The Mobility House is dedicated to shaping a zero-emissions future in energy and mobility. The company provides resilient charging technology that is reliable and flexible, ensuring drivers can benefit from zero emissions and zero cost charging. By integrating flexible charging with energy systems, The Mobility House helps stabilize the grid with clean energy. The company currently manages more than 2,500 EV fleet charging facilities globally, charges hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles, and manages energy storage of more than 100 MWh.

About the California Energy Commission

The California Energy Commission is the state's main agency for energy policy and planning. It has seven key responsibilities: shaping state energy policy, promoting energy efficiency, certifying thermal power plants, investing in energy innovation, developing renewable energy sources, transforming transportation, and preparing for energy emergencies. For more details, visit https://www.energy.ca.gov.

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“We’ve already seen how the electric buses can contribute to cleaner air for our community. Now, we have the opportunity to use these buses to deliver clean and reliable energy too.”