GM Looks to Parlay Battery Work Into New Energy Business
General Motors Co.
GM -3.96%
is starting an energy business to sell power-storage units and services to homeowners and commercial clients, an offshoot of the auto maker’s battery-development work for electric vehicles.
GM said the new division, called GM Energy, will help customers transfer electricity from an EV or battery-storage box to a home or building, as a way to protect against power outages and transfer electricity to the grid during off-peak times.
For instance, for customers who have bought EVs, GM will offer a special charger to enable the vehicle to power the home during an outage. It will also sell large, stand-alone batteries to commercial customers to store and manage power.
Travis Hester,
head of GM’s EV growth initiatives, said the company sees a chance to generate revenue from its investment in battery technology beyond the sale of EVs. He declined to offer a revenue target but said executives may outline goals to investors at some point.
“We have become an expert battery manufacturer,” he said. “It’s a natural evolution for us to move in here.”
Other auto makers also have moved to leverage their experience developing battery-powered cars to delve into the energy space.
Tesla Inc.
operates an energy-storage business, which generated $866 million in revenue during the second quarter.
Toyota Motor Corp.
in June began sales in Japan of a battery-storage system for residential use.
As car companies race to put out EVs and digitize more functions of automobiles, those efforts also are creating opportunities to push into new lines of business, executives say.
GM last year created its BrightDrop division, which sells electric vans and software services to commercial customers, including FedEx Corp. Car companies also are working to monetize the growing amount of data flowing from connected vehicles, such as using the driving habits of car owners to set car-insurance rates.
Some past efforts by GM to diversify into different sectors have failed. A few years ago, it discontinued a car-sharing service it had created to compete with startups. In the 1980s, the auto maker acquired data processor Electronic Data Systems Corp., as well as Hughes Aircraft Co., only to later sell off those units amid tough times in the car business.
Mr. Hester said GM has been developing the energy business for about two years and several large companies have signed on as customers.
GM will offer a software tool that will help commercial customers manage the charging of their electric trucks and vans, for example. The energy business also will allow customers to sell energy from an EV or a GM-provided battery storage unit to the utility during times of high electricity use, he said.
Mr. Hester said the use of EVs as mobile generators has the potential to improve the resilience of the power grid. California’s
PG&E Corp.
and other utility companies have said they support the use of EVs as a way to improve grid reliability.
GM and PG&E have been running a pilot program that allows customers to use their EVs to power the home during outages, GM said.
Write to Mike Colias at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
General Motors Co.
GM -3.96%
is starting an energy business to sell power-storage units and services to homeowners and commercial clients, an offshoot of the auto maker’s battery-development work for electric vehicles.
GM said the new division, called GM Energy, will help customers transfer electricity from an EV or battery-storage box to a home or building, as a way to protect against power outages and transfer electricity to the grid during off-peak times.
For instance, for customers who have bought EVs, GM will offer a special charger to enable the vehicle to power the home during an outage. It will also sell large, stand-alone batteries to commercial customers to store and manage power.
Travis Hester,
head of GM’s EV growth initiatives, said the company sees a chance to generate revenue from its investment in battery technology beyond the sale of EVs. He declined to offer a revenue target but said executives may outline goals to investors at some point.
“We have become an expert battery manufacturer,” he said. “It’s a natural evolution for us to move in here.”
Other auto makers also have moved to leverage their experience developing battery-powered cars to delve into the energy space.
Tesla Inc.
operates an energy-storage business, which generated $866 million in revenue during the second quarter.
Toyota Motor Corp.
in June began sales in Japan of a battery-storage system for residential use.
As car companies race to put out EVs and digitize more functions of automobiles, those efforts also are creating opportunities to push into new lines of business, executives say.
GM last year created its BrightDrop division, which sells electric vans and software services to commercial customers, including FedEx Corp. Car companies also are working to monetize the growing amount of data flowing from connected vehicles, such as using the driving habits of car owners to set car-insurance rates.
Some past efforts by GM to diversify into different sectors have failed. A few years ago, it discontinued a car-sharing service it had created to compete with startups. In the 1980s, the auto maker acquired data processor Electronic Data Systems Corp., as well as Hughes Aircraft Co., only to later sell off those units amid tough times in the car business.
Mr. Hester said GM has been developing the energy business for about two years and several large companies have signed on as customers.
GM will offer a software tool that will help commercial customers manage the charging of their electric trucks and vans, for example. The energy business also will allow customers to sell energy from an EV or a GM-provided battery storage unit to the utility during times of high electricity use, he said.
Mr. Hester said the use of EVs as mobile generators has the potential to improve the resilience of the power grid. California’s
PG&E Corp.
and other utility companies have said they support the use of EVs as a way to improve grid reliability.
GM and PG&E have been running a pilot program that allows customers to use their EVs to power the home during outages, GM said.
Write to Mike Colias at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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