GM unveils the residential energy products its selling alongside EVs

GM Energy — the energy company created by GM to sell batteries, charging equipment, solar panels, and software to residential and commercial customers — just announced its first batch of energy management products that will be available under its residential business unit, Ultium Home. Three distinct product bundles will be available at launch: two are designed to take advantage of the bidirectional charging capabilities of certain GM EVs, while a third doesn’t require an electric GM vehicle at all.

Compatible GM EVs equipped with the company’s bidirectional V2H (vehicle-to-home) charging tech lets homeowners use their parked vehicle as a backup energy source that can power their homes during outages. For them, there are two Ultium Home kits: the V2H Bundle and Energy System Bundle. The Home Energy Storage Bundle is for anyone looking to add stationary batteries without needing an EV.

The biggest kit is the Ultium Home Energy System Bundle. It targets GM EV owners looking to install both an at-home charger for their vehicle, take advantage of its V2H functionality, and add stationary power storage that can be used in a pinch. There are three components to this bundle: GM’s PowerShift Charger, a V2H Enablement Kit, and GM’s PowerBank. 

The PowerShift Charger can dispense up to 19.2kW of power while the V2H Enablement Kit includes an inverter, home hub, and dark start battery — which allows the system to restart itself using a backup battery if the main power grid fails. The Enablement Kit can supply 9.6kW of discharge power, and when paired with the PowerShift Charger, it enables V2H bidirectional charging for owners of compatible GM EVs.

The Ultium Home PowerBank storage unit connects to the Ultium Home V2H Enablement Kit, allowing users to extend their home’s supply of emergency power by storing grid or solar energy. The PowerBank is available in either 5kW/10.6kWh or 7kW/17.7kWh models. Customers can work with SunPower, GM Energy’s exclusive solar provider, to integrate solar energy solutions with Ultium Home products.

If you’re only interested in GM’s bidirectional EV charging, then you can buy the Ultium Home V2H Bundle, which excludes the PowerBank battery storage. Similarly, if you don’t own an EV but you want to integrate stationary batteries into your home, the Ultium Home Energy Storage Bundle supplies you with just the PowerBank battery storage, inverter, and home hub. All of the new Ultium Home offerings will be connected to the GM Energy Cloud, which will allow users to manage how energy is transferred between the GM Energy ecosystem.

“As GM Energy’s ecosystem of connected products and services continues to expand, we’re excited to provide customers with options for greater energy management beyond the vehicle,” said Wade Sheffer, vice president of GM Energy. “Our initial Ultium Home offerings represent an opportunity for customers to take greater control over their personal energy independence and resiliency.”

The ability to sell stored energy back to utilities during peak consumption periods, a Home Energy feature the company had previously teased, is notably absent from this announcement — though it may still be on the horizon. “GM Energy has a number of active pilots in place with utilities which are exploring the potential applications of extending technology beyond the vehicle,” Mark Lubin, senior manager of strategic technology communications at GM, told The Verge. “Over time, GM Energy will continue to introduce new products and functionality which will allow customers to take advantage of the complete energy ecosystem, including vehicle-to-grid.”

GM says that the pricing and release timeline of each of the new Ultium Home product bundles “will vary.”

Update June 28th, 11:15AM ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from GM Energy regarding some of the ecosystem’s energy-sharing features.