- The partnership will give consumers access to EV charger rebates and lower their energy bills
- This collaboration will allow eligible Wallbox customers to receive financial incentives by participating in smart charging demand response programs and other grid services managed by AutoGrid
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - JANUARY 25, 2022, Wallbox (NYSE:WBX) a leading provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management solutions worldwide, and AutoGrid, industry-leading provider of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) that harness distributed energy resources (DERs) such as electric vehicles, have announced a partnership in the U.S. to reduce the upfront and ongoing costs associated with EV driving. Through the partnership, Pulsar Plus, Wallbox’s globally bestselling home EV charger, will be integrated into AutoGrid’s best-in-class software, AutoGrid Flex™, to offer benefits to EV drivers, utilities, communities and the environment.
With AutoGrid’s Flex™ platform, utilities have the ability to dispatch AutoGrid’s network of DERs, including smart thermostats, water heaters, EVs, EV chargers, storage, and renewables, to respond to fluctuations in energy generation and spikes in demand, which are accelerating due to climate change events. For example, as demand spiked during California’s September 2022 heatwave, AutoGrid’s VPP dispatched more than 100 events and during emergency hours, controlled residential thermostats, residential and commercial energy storage, microgrids, and fleets of electric vehicles/chargers to help avoid rolling blackouts.
“All Wallbox chargers are built with advanced energy intelligence software so our integration with AutoGrid’s state-of-the-art AI driven software was a natural partnership,” said Douglas Alfaro, General Manager of Wallbox North America. “This partnership will help drive our companies’ mission to drive the transition to electric vehicles and more sustainable energy use at large.”
“Wallbox adds to AutoGrid's rapidly growing ecosystem of partner EVs, EVSEs, and other consumer products that enable our utility customers to make this growing asset class and ground-breaking levels of demand flexibility available to the grid,” said Farshid Arman, Sr. Director of Grid Services Partnerships at AutoGrid. “Together, we are leading the path towards a cleaner, less expensive, and more reliable electricity grid.”
This collaboration is set to kick off before summer 2023, which in general, is the most challenging period for the grid. Customers who reside in the territories of Clean Power Alliance, Sonoma Clean Power and Pacific Gas and Electric, will be able to apply for utility-managed charging incentives ahead of this period, by registering their Wallbox charger with the utility, or by purchasing a new charger through programs that are managed by AutoGrid. More utility programs across the US are in development and will be announced soon.
About Wallbox Chargers
Wallbox is a global technology company, dedicated to changing the way the world uses energy. Wallbox creates advanced electric vehicle charging and energy management systems that redefine users' relationship to the grid. Wallbox goes beyond electric vehicle charging to give users the power to control their consumption, save money, and live more sustainably. Wallbox offers a complete portfolio of charging and energy management solutions for residential, semi-public and public use in more than 113 countries around the world. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Barcelona, the company now employs more than 1,200 people in its offices in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
For additional information, please visit www.wallbox.com
About AutoGrid
AutoGrid is committed to accelerating access to sustainable energy in order to combat the climate crisis and advance environmental equity. AutoGrid’s AI-driven software makes electric vehicles, batteries, roof-top solar, utility-scale wind and other distributed energy resources (DERs) smarter. By enabling prediction, optimization, and real-time control of millions of energy assets at an unprecedented scale, AutoGrid is making the vision of a decentralized, decarbonized, and democratized new energy world a reality. With more than a decade of pioneering experience across the globe, AutoGrid offers fleet owners, energy-as-a-service companies, renewable project developers, utilities, and electricity retailers the ability to build, own, operate, and participate in intelligent and scalable Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) enabling them to disrupt the dependency on fossil-fuel based energy. The AutoGrid Flex™ platform is managing over 6,000 MW of VPPs in 17 countries.