EV charging and energy management specialist Wallbox is now working with AutoGrid, a top provider of virtual power plants (VPPs) tech, in a new partnership that will make utility-driven EV charging programs more accessible for customers. Through the partnership, Pulsar Plus, Wallbox’s home EV charger, will be integrated into AutoGrid Flex.
“All Wallbox chargers are built with advanced energy intelligence software so our integration with AutoGrid’s state-of-the-art AI driven software was a natural partnership,” said Douglas Alfaro, General Manager of Wallbox North America. “This partnership will help drive our companies’ mission to drive the transition to electric vehicles and more sustainable energy use at large.”
Flex gives utilities the ability to dispatch AutoGrid’s network of distributed energy resources to respond to fluctuations in energy generation and spikes in demand. For example, as demand spiked during California’s September 2022 heatwave, AutoGrid’s VPP dispatched more than 100 events and during emergency hours, controlled residential thermostats, residential and commercial energy storage, microgrids, and fleets of electric vehicles/chargers to help avoid rolling blackouts.
This collaboration is set to kick off before summer 2023, which in general, is the most challenging period for the grid.
Customers who reside in the territories of Clean Power Alliance, Sonoma Clean Power and Pacific Gas and Electric, will be able to apply for utility-managed charging incentives ahead of this period, by registering their Wallbox charger with the utility, or by purchasing a new charger through programs that are managed by AutoGrid.
“Wallbox adds to AutoGrid’s rapidly growing ecosystem of partner EVs, EVSEs, and other consumer products that enable our utility customers to make this growing asset class and ground-breaking levels of demand flexibility available to the grid,” said Farshid Arman, Sr. Director of Grid Services Partnerships at AutoGrid. “Together, we are leading the path towards a cleaner, less expensive, and more reliable electricity grid.”
More utility programs across the US are in development and will be announced soon.
Wallbox partnered with SunPower last year, and SunPower dealers are preferred installers of Wallbox EV charging equipment.
— Solar Builder magazine
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