- General Motors’ electric vehicles will get vehicle-to-grid capability starting next year.
- The rollout will be part of GM’s Energy Home ecosystem, which includes a Level 2 charger and a stationary power bank.
- EVs that are able to send energy back into the grid can help stabilize power supply during emergencies and blackouts.
Electric vehicles are essentially giant batteries on wheels, capable of powering homes, running appliances and even sending electricity back to the grid during blackouts or energy surges. General Motors EVs are able to do some of that already, but now the automaker is building out a fuller ecosystem around battery power that could be more accessible to the public—while also being smarter.
As of today, GM EVs are capable of bidirectional charging—also known as vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality—where they can power external tools such as a coffee machine or even an e-bike, using the vehicle’s high-voltage battery. GM also sells a special vehicle-to-home (V2H) kit, which includes its Powershift charger that allows owners to use their EV batteries as backup generators for their homes.
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Source: General Motors
Starting in 2026, GM will lease those systems out as well. While prices and terms will be announced later, presumably, this will lower the entry cost for the setup. Moreover, GM will offer a complete Energy Home system, including bi-directional EV charging equipment and a stationary battery similar to a Tesla Powerwall.
“In addition, if customers do not have a GM EV, they can still benefit from having access,” said Aseem Kapur, the chief revenue officer for GM Energy, at yesterday’s announcement in New York. “If they have solar power, or they just need access to backup generation, they can invest in a power bank system.”
General Motors Energy Home System
Photo by: General Motors
Currently, GM’s Energy Home System (minus the V2G) costs about $13,600, before taxes and incentives. That includes the Level 2 home charger for your EV, a stationary energy storage battery and the hardware for V2H. GM also sells a V2H bundle separately, which is slightly cheaper at $8,100, but doesn’t include the stationary power bank.
GM officials said lease prices will be announced later.
Some of GM’s full-size SUVs and trucks, like the GMC Sierra EV and Hummer EV, come with 200+ kilowatt-hour battery packs. That’s more than double the battery capacity of most mass-market EVs in the U.S. That much stored energy means owners could power their homes for days at a time, depending on household size and energy use.
If tens of thousands of EVs with such large battery packs feed power back into the grid, utility companies could better manage emergencies, directing electricity where it’s needed most for short periods. Depending on local and state V2G rules, owners might even earn payments for using their batteries, helping offset charging costs.
Experts previously interviewed by InsideEVs have said that demand for such types of energy sharing is rising as natural disasters worsen due to global warming and power-hungry AI data centers overburden the grid. So EVs are not only slashing emissions, they’re also having a broader climate impact by sharing power when it’s needed most.
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