Toyota Motor collaborates with Oncor to step up EV charging ecosystem

Toyota Motor North America and Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC announced their partnership last week. They will be working on a project on vehicle-to-grid research that will allow vehicles to flow energy from battery packs to the electric grid.

Toyota Motor and Oncor’s endeavor is set to be led by the automaker’s Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions (EVCS) team. Dallas Innovates reported that this venture is an important first collaboration with a public utility for the Plano, Texas-based carmaker in the United States, related to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).

Oncor is said to be the largest transmission and distribution electric utility in Texas and the US’ fifth largest utility firm. It was said that the outcome of the research would allow the companies to become better prepared when they provide support to the wider EV charging ecosystem in the country.

This will also help Toyota in boosting the customer experience for its BEV customers as well as step up its efforts in carbon neutrality. Through this, the company will also be able to provide advances in business opportunities.

It was revealed that initially, Toyota Motor and Oncor agreed to a research project that will make use of the latter’s research and testing microgrid at its System Operating Services Facility (SOSF) located in n South Dallas.

The facility’s microgrid is made up of four interconnected microgrids that can be controlled separately. The companies said this could also be operated in parallel, all at once, or combined into a single, larger system.

Toyota and Oncor are planning to use a BEV along with the system to understand more fully about the interconnectivity between utilities and battery electric vehicles. The companies have already scheduled the second phase of the project for 2023. This testing will be carried out with BEVs linked to businesses or homes within the territory where the Oncor service is available.

"We envision a future where Toyota BEVs provide a best-in-class mobility experience, but also can be utilized by our customers to power their homes, their communities or even power back the electric grid in times of need," Toyota Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions team’s vice president, Christopher Yang, said in a press release.

Oncor’s executive vice president and COO, Jim Greer, added, "This project marks the first collaboration of its kind between Oncor and an OEM manufacturer, and we are excited to work with a world-class technology leader like Toyota to better understand how the electric grid can enable V2G transactions across the Oncor service territory.”