Toyota Motor North America and Oncor Electric Delivery, a Texas-based electric transmission and distribution company, will collaborate on a pilot project around vehicle-to-grid (V2G), a technology that allows vehicles to flow energy from their battery back onto the electric grid. The effort will be led by Toyota’s Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions (EVCS) team, marking an important first collaboration with a public utility for Toyota in the US around Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).
Initially, the two companies have agreed to a research project that will use Oncor’s research and testing microgrid at its System Operating Services Facility (SOSF) in south Dallas, located just south of Toyota’s nearby national headquarters.
The SOSF microgrid is composed of four interconnected microgrids that can be controlled independently, but also operated in parallel, tandem or combined into a single, larger system. The microgrid and its subsystems also include a “V2G” charger, solar panels and battery storage for testing and evaluation.