Revel & Partners Launch First Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) System on New York City’s Grid

The first Vehicle to Grid (V2G) programme connected to New York City’s grid, backed by Revel, NineDot Energy and Fermata Energy, is now live at Revel’s Red Hook warehouse in Brooklyn. The three companies have partnered to deploy a bidirectional charging system that can both charge electric vehicles (EVs) and discharge those EVs to send energy stored in their batteries back to the grid in NYC.

Unlike conventional EV chargers, Fermata Energy’s V2X bidirectional charging system can both charge EVs and send some of that stored power back to the grid.

The V2G system currently operates with Nissan LEAF EVs and aims to incorporate more EV models as V2G technology becomes more available.

NineDot Energy and Fermata Energy activated the V2G system at Revel’s warehouse following a successful testing period conducted over the summer. 

The partnership takes advantage of Revel’s fleet of electric rideshare vehicles, which they own, operate, and charge at their fast charging hub in Brooklyn.

The three DC chargers that will export nearly 50kW to the grid, the equivalent of powering 50 homes.

The project was announced in September, 2021.

In a press statement at the time, Paul Suhey, Revel Co-founder and Head of Rideshare and EV Infrastructure, said: “One thing rarely talked about with EVs is the incredible cumulative storage capacity of their batteries. Through V2G technology, we’re able to use this storage capacity to support a decarbonized electric grid. Revel is operating at the convergence of energy and mobility because we believe that integration of these two sectors is the fastest path to a zero-carbon future.”

“Having distributed energy sources such as parked EVs provide power to the electric grid at critical times represents an important proof of concept that EV’s can be the 'peaker plants'  of the future” added David Arfin, CEO and Co-Founder of NineDot Energy. “NineDot’s business model innovation will simultaneously improve the economics for EV fleet owners, increase grid reliability and provide economic savings for community subscribers.”

"V2X technologies enable the electric grid to gain access to enormous stored energy from electric vehicles," stated Fermata Energy founder and CEO David Slutzky. “Our collaboration with Revel and Nine Dot is critical to proving that V2X will need to be a part of any essential EV infrastructure moving forward. Soon, bidirectionality and V2X capacity will be the norm in all EVs and charging systems, thanks to this partnership.”

Revel and NineDot Energy aim to scale the V2G program across Revel’s entire rideshare fleet and future Superhubs around New York City.