General Motors aims to lure customers with novel energy management system

General Motors aims to lure customers with novel energy management system

New York, Oct. 13, 2022

General Motors announced a new spin-off company that will offer products and services for homes and businesses to store and manage electricity.

GM Energy can help customers maintain power during outages and allow them to sell energy back to utilities during peak periods. The company will offer solar panels, stationary storage batteries, electric vehicle chargers, hydrogen fuel cells, bidirectional chargers, vehicle-to-home and grid devices, and cloud-based software to manage the devices.

For example, during a power outage, customers could transfer electricity from battery storage or an electric vehicle to a home or business. During a heat wave, they could feed that energy back into the grid.

The unit marks GM’s push into the overall energy management ecosystem, putting the company in direct competition with Tesla, GM manager Travis Hester said.

The venture builds on GM’s electric vehicle and battery efforts and is designed to offer accessories that could boost GM electric vehicle sales.

It is divided into three units: Ultium Home, Ultium Commercial and Ultium Charge 360, the existing EV charging program. GM Energy’s partners include SunPower, which will supply solar panels and install GM’s home systems, and utilities such as PG&E, which is currently testing a bidirectional charger for e-vehicles to power household appliances during power outages.