Leading Medium and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Manufacturer
Showcases Bidirectional Charging Technology in New Video
MONTREAL, Dec. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - The Lion
Electric Company (Lion), an innovative manufacturer of
purpose-built all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles, is
pleased to announce that it has been successful in using its
electric school buses to supply electricity back to Con Edison
utility customers, as part of the company's vehicle-to-grid (V2G)
pilot deployment in White Plains, New
York.
A new video highlighting the project can be seen here:
https://youtu.be/wAiFLP43_rA
The project, which began in 2018 in partnership among Lion,
Nuvve, White Plains School
District and National Express, is known by the company to be the
first successful deployment in the state of New York of a vehicle-to-grid pilot, whereby
electricity flows from electric school buses back to the grid –
marking a significant milestone in advancing V2G technology in
North America. As a result of the
deployment, Con Edison is now able to successfully transmit energy
from the LionC school buses of the White
Plains School District back into the grid, which energy can
then be distributed to customers aided by Nuvve's V2G
technology.
The success of this initial V2G pilot deployment is significant
as it serves as an example of how school buses – which are ideal
for V2G integration due to their daily use patterns and overnight
storage – can be used to sell power back to the grid when demand
for energy is high, saving operators money and contributing to the
condition of the grid. As such, all of Lion's buses and heavy-duty
vehicles come equipped standard with V2G technology onboard,
providing new ROI opportunities for its customers to unlock and
realize.
As governments around the globe pursue increasingly ambitious
carbon neutrality goals based largely on renewable energy sources
and zero-emission transportation, V2G integration becomes an
increasingly important tool in balancing grids – especially when
taking into account the high peak supply inherent to renewable
energy sources.
"V2G has been a trendy word in the EV industry for many years,
but now we have proven that V2G is real thanks to our great
partners at Con Edison, Nuvve, White
Plains School District and National Express. This great
project is the result of exceptional teamwork and innovation
between the partners," said Marc-Andre
Page, Vice President of Commercial Operations at Lion
Electric. "This important milestone for V2G outlines the
cooperation required between utilities, fleet operators, school
districts and regulatory organizations to successfully implement a
project of this scale. Lion is very proud of this first successful
V2G deployment and is equipped to support the rollout of other
similar projects throughout North
America."
The V2G charging and discharging takes place at a depot in
North White Plains, where the
buses remain plugged into a charger when not in use. The batteries
are charged when demand for power is low, and the chargers are
programmed to reverse the power flow into the grid at times when
the buses are not in operation. By charging when demand and thus
the price for electricity is low and discharging when demand is
high, operators can save money on energy costs for their fleet.
The fleet of five LionC buses are operated for the school
district by National Express, which also pays for the energy costs
during the school year. Con Edison, the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority and National Express collaboratively contributed to the
purchase of the electric bus fleet, while Lion aided in the project
design.
"We think electric school buses may provide an opportunity to
achieve two of our company's goals, which are reducing carbon
emissions, and maintaining our industry-leading reliability," said
Brian Ross, Con Edison's manager for
the project. "We are innovating to help our state and region
achieve a clean energy future in which electric vehicles will have
a big role."
"Our V2G software platform is designed to deliver grid services
such as those to Con Edison from electric school buses," said
Gregory Poilasne, chairman and CEO of Nuvve Corp. "The electric
buses provide a cleaner environment for communities and help lower
CO2 emissions while ensuring that driving energy needs are met
every day."
"Our operators are dedicated to enabling the success of school
bus electrification and V2G for the White
Plains School District, with safety and reliability
remaining as our top priorities," said Charlie Bruce, SVP of Business Development at
National Express.
All of Lion's vehicles are purpose-built for
electric propulsion from the ground up, and are
manufactured at Lion's North American facility, which has
a current capacity to produce 2,500 electric vehicles per
year. Over the last decade, Lion has established itself as a
leader in the all-electric school bus industry, having delivered
over 300 all-electric school buses in North America with over 6 million miles driven
since 2016.
About Lion Electric
Lion Electric is an innovative manufacturer
of zero-emission vehicles. The company creates, designs
and manufactures all-electric class 5 to class 8 commercial
urban trucks and all-electric buses and minibuses for the school,
paratransit and mass transit segments. Lion is a North
American leader in electric transportation and designs, builds
and assembles all its vehicles' components, including chassis,
battery packs, truck cabins and bus bodies.
Always actively seeking new and reliable technologies, Lion
vehicles have unique features that are specifically adapted to its
users and their everyday needs. Lion believes that transitioning to
all-electric vehicles will lead to major improvements in our
society, environment and overall quality of life.
Transaction with Northern Genesis
On November 30, 2020, Lion
announced that it had entered into a business combination agreement
and plan of reorganization pursuant to which, subject to the
satisfaction of customary closing conditions, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Lion will merge with Northern Genesis Acquisition
Corp. (NYSE: NGA), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition
company focused on a commitment to sustainability and strong
alignment with environmental, social and governance principles.
Upon completion of the transaction, Lion is expected to be listed
on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the new ticker symbol
"LEV".
Lion Electric, The Bright Move
Thelionelectric.com
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SOURCE The Lion Electric Co.