General Motors activates vehicle-to-grid capabilities and sodium-ion batteries to help offset AI data centers' electricity demand

GM announced firmware updates enabling its current EV owners to send power back to the electrical grid (vehicle-to-grid, or V2G). The automaker says over 250,000 bidirectional-capable Chevy, Cadillac, and GMC EVs are on American roads today, with combined battery capacity theoretically enough to power 120,000 homes for up to an entire week.

GM is developing sodium-ion batteries for industrial-scale grid applications in partnership with Peak Energy, and testing V2G technology in two states: Northern California with PG&E (targeting 52,000 EVs for grid balancing by 2030) and Michigan with DTE Energy (using 30 employee homes as test cases).

GM launched Energy Pass, a feature across its mobile apps allowing Chevy, Cadillac, and GMC EV owners to find, start, and pay for charging across multiple third-party operators including Tesla, Electrify America, and IONNA, without signing up for separate accounts.