By David Shepardson
(Reuters) – General Motors said Thursday its GM Energy unit is offering electric vehicle owners a home storage option to store and transfer solar energy, part of the company’s sales pitch to potential EV owners.
The largest U.S. automaker said it is launching the GM Energy PowerBank, which comes in 10.6 kilowatt-hours and 17.7 kWh battery capacity variants, and expanding access to energy management products across all 50 states. GM said the stationary storage product can provide power to a home during outages or offset higher electricity rates during peak demand periods.
Wade Sheffer, vice president of GM Energy, said the tool “gives our customers more control over their energy use, helping to mitigate the impact of power outages, integrating renewable energy options and unlocking additional values.”
The unit lets owners store and use captured solar energy and provide power without an EV present. Owners could store enough power to serve an average U.S. home for up to 20 hours with two PowerBank units.
Energy storage units are part of an effort by automakers to convince reluctant EV buyers to consider an electric vehicle. “The energy grid is becoming less reliable and it affects all of us,” GM says on its website.
GM rival Tesla has a successful energy storage business called Tesla Energy that includes a Powerwall home power backup system, and Megapack, meant for large-scale commercial projects and utilities.
Energy storage and generation accounted for 6% of Tesla’s 2023 revenue, according to Reuters data. In July, Morgan Stanley raised its valuation for Tesla’s storage business.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Louise Heavens)
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