Volvo energy business will tap into EVs’ bidirectional charging

Volvo on Thursday announced a new business unit focused on tapping into the potential of EV bidirectional charging.

Volvo Cars Energy Solutions will offer “energy storage and charging-related technologies and services,” according to a company press release. But that won’t be a reality in the U.S. until the launch of the Volvo EX90, the first Volvo EV to be equipped for bidirectional charging.

For now, Volvo is launching a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) pilot program with Göteborg Energi Nät AB, a local utility in the automaker’s headquarters city of Gothenburg, Sweden. The program will involve real customers and will use low-cost AC wallboxes to help accelerate adoption of V2G tech, according to Volvo.

Volvo aims to go all-electric by 2030 and to put “millions” of EVs on the road in the coming years. The automaker estimates that the total battery capacity of its…