WEMO24-Compiled Report-Interactive compressed (002) 4154-7882-8116 v.1 - Flipbook - Page 95
The formation of the EV-Grid-Integration Group in the USA
marks a significant milestone in the collaborative efforts
between the automotive and utility industries. This group,
which includes major auto players such as GM, Ford, and
Utilities such as PG&E, and Consolidated Edison, exemplifies
how industries can come together to address the challenges
and opportunities presented by the rapid growth of electric
vehicles (EVs).
Given the surge in EV adoption, as highlighted by recent data
showing a substantial increase in USA electricity demand due
to EVs, this collaboration is timely and essential. By working
together, these industries can pave the way for a more
integrated and efficient energy ecosystem. The formation of
this group is not just a response to current demands but a
proactive step towards a sustainable future, where the
synergy between automotive and utility sectors can drive
innovation and progress in the energy transition.
If successful then the outcomes will be seen in exploiting the
storage assets that are EVs whilst allowing optimisation of
capital spend on networks.
New markets, new opportunities,
and new entrants
This is only the start of the transformation, though, and the
rapidly-evolving smart energy world is delivering data
opportunities which are attracting new approaches and hence
new entrants. Most importantly, enabling the energy
transition will require a new energy ecosystem, where new
players, such as aggregators and market operators, play
critical roles in leveraging all available energy resources.
As reported in prior editions of WEMO, the legacy world of
energy retail is starting to be disrupted by new entrants from
other sectors. This threat to the revenue and profit streams
has been seen before in the finance and telco worlds.
The signs are clear – customers are taking control, buying
energy assets to reduce demand and become prosumers.
They are also, perhaps unwittingly, buying huge storage
devices in the form of EVs and largely (currently) failing to
exploit the full value of all the assets they own.
Held back by slow processes, a lack of expertise in the asset
domain and brand/investment issues, the market is open for
new entrants to thrive....but which ones are coming into the
market?
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ARTICLE
A few examples of market disruptors
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EV-Grid-Integration Group in the USA
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Coming in from a mobility and storage angle we have the
headline-grabbers such as Tesla (with its VPP offerings in UK,
Spain, USA) and the potential expansion into a broad energy
services company which includes the transactional energy
retail elements.
From home services we have Ikea and its recently-launched
Energy Insights feature enabling consumers to monitor their
energy consumption. How long before AI is applied to
automatically optimize your home energy use, production
and export?
Be it a mobility/storage entrant, a home services entrant, or
another (telco examples exist, spilling over to energy based
on brand/customer experience), the disintermediation of the
traditional retailer from its customer is starting to happen.
This is the start, though. Once the full suite of smart
solutions are implemented, the power of the data can be
fully leveraged – offering new opportunities to optimize
home energy services at a household, community or national
level. The winners in the future will the firms that can
capitalize on this data in near-real time – blending an
individuals predicted demand (home and car) with the
market pricing and storage options every 30 minutes of
every day.
WEMO 2024
The need for a demand
side energy transition
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