University signs first V2G licence

Under the terms of the licensing agreement, AutoPort has been granted non-exclusive rights of the technology in commercial fleet vehicles.

The V2G technology enables electric-car owners to plug in their vehicles and send electricity back to electrical utilities. The system is designed to generate cash for the driver, while strengthening the US’s power supply and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

During the next year, AutoPort plans to retrofit the first 100 V2G cars as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the technology, which was developed by Willett Kempton, a professor in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, and UD research fellow Jasna Tomic.

If the initial tests of the technology are successful and V2G vehicles are subsequently manufactured, the university will receive a royalty for each vehicle sold with V2G equipment.

‘AutoPort is excited to be the first company in the world licensed to practise this V2G technology,’ said Dick Johnson, the company’s director of business development. ‘We are looking forward to working closer with the university and AC Propulsion to demonstrate the first large-scale V2G project.’