EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE) has completed a Series A investment in San Diego-based Nuvve Corporation (Nuvve), a start-up working on Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology.
The investment and partnership with Nuvve is part of EDF Renewable Energy’s strategic growth in the distributed electricity and storage market. EDF RE joins Nuvve with Toyota Tsusho in the Series A round.
Nuvve’s proven V2G solution allows parked electric vehicles (EVs) to serve as a virtual power plant by enabling bi-directional charging aligned to the needs of the grid. Nuvve’s platform is the first of its kind to provide commercial grid-balancing services. EDF RE and Nuvve look forward to working with grid operators and regulators to accelerate V2G participation in grid ancillary markets.
The partnership will also bring V2G charging and on-site solar to U.S. based Corporate & Industrial (C&I) customers who would like to offer workplace charging. The availability of workplace charging is recognized by the Department of Energy as a key driver to EV adoption, but can result in significant electricity costs for site hosts. By combining on-site solar with V2G charging, C&I customers will be able to recognize a net savings on their electric bill.
Raphael Declercq, Vice President of Portfolio Strategy at EDF Renewable Energy, who has been appointed as a board member of the company, said, “C&Is are increasingly asking for electric vehicle charging infrastructure to offer the onsite benefit to employees and customers. EDF RE can deliver cost-effective, clean and reliable solar power to charge the EVs, while Nuvve brings a V2G solution that can reduce charging costs and serve the local grid. The investment in Nuvve aligns nicely with our distributed energy strategy to provide C&I customers with a complete solution to optimize their electricity needs.”
The investment of EDF RE in Nuvve is also a testament to the vitality of the energy startup ecosystem in San Diego. Nuvve, a San Diego Regional Energy Innovation Network company, was recently awarded a $4.2M grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to support a V2G demonstration at UC San Diego. EDF Renewable Energy, a board member at Cleantech San Diego, supplies over 300 MW of wind and solar energy to San Diego and provides workplace charging to its 350 local employees.
EDF RE launched the Distributed Electricity and Storage (DES) business unit in March 2017 to focus on distributed solar, storage and emerging opportunities in order to provide unique products and services to C&I and utility customers in the United States. The group has rapidly expanded in resources and expertise and recently was selected as the sole awardee to provide Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) with 40 MWh of behind-the-meter battery storage projects for C&I customer within the PG&E service territory.