The ChargeScape platform will help utilities and electric vehicle drivers in Canada optimize charging and save money

Nissan is joining ChargeScape, a New York-based company specializing in electric vehicle and grid integration, as an equal investor alongside founding partners BMW, Ford and Honda.

The Japanese automaker will extend ChargeScape’s services to its electric vehicle drivers in Canada and the U.S.

“ChargeScape helps us more conveniently and effectively connect utilities to EV drivers, making the ownership experience more valuable for drivers by giving them incentives for participating in managed charging and vehicle-to-grid programs,” says Kent O’Hara, president of Nissan’s 4R battery business, in a press statement.

ChargeScape began its operations last month by the original founding trio of automakers; a year after the joint venture was formalized in September 2023.

Once the investment transaction is final, Nissan will hold a 25 per cent stake in ChargeScape, which expects additional automakers to invest in the joint venture “in the coming months.”

Connecting vehicles to utilities

“We are delighted to welcome Nissan to the ChargeScape joint venture,” says Joseph Vellone, ChargeScape’s CEO.

“Nissan’s decision to join us underscores their commitment to helping customers charge more cheaply and sustainably and highlights ChargeScape’s central position in the vehicle-grid integration space.”

The goal of ChargeScape is to connect EVs to the grid and manage electricity flow based on real-time conditions.

EV drivers sign up through their utility company, which partners with ChargeScape to enable smart charging (V1G) or vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.

Currently, the ChargeScape platform includes only U.S.-based utilities such as Duke Energy, Xcel Energy, and Eversource Energy.

However, a ChargeScape spokesperson tells Electric Autonomy in an email that Canadian utilities will join the initiative “soon,” though ChargeScape “can’t disclose who until it’s a done deal.”

To connect electric vehicles with utilities and the grid, ChargeScape uses an Open Vehicle-Grid Integration Platform (OVGIP) which enables utility providers in Canada and the U.S. to access battery energy and data from EVs linked to the grid.

The OVGIP uses smart charging to reduce energy demand (charging) during peak periods and leverages V2G technology to send stored energy back into the grid when needed.

ChargeScape also offers financial incentives to EV drivers for pausing charging during peak times and for selling energy back to the grid.

Nissan’s commitment to V2G technology

The decision to join ChargeScape marks an evolution in Nissan’s global push toward vehicle-to-everything (V2X) bi-directional charging technology.

The Nissan Leaf was one of the first EVs capable of exporting power back to the grid (known as vehicle-to-grid technology) and the company continues to advance and test V2G technology in Australia, Japan, Namibia, the UK, the U.S., Germany, Portugal and Thailand.

Nissan’s other global V2X initiatives also include the launch of “Nissan Energy” in in the U.S., Japan and Europe. It is a system that allows Nissan EV owners to charge their vehicles, power homes and businesses, or return energy to the grid.

The automaker also introduced in 2018 “Nissan Energy Home,” a demonstration house showcasing how EVs can meet household energy needs at the Nissan Global Headquarters Gallery in Yokohama.