Automaker General Motors plans to produce its own solar cells and energy storage systems for households and commercial users, creating competition for Tesla.
For this purpose, a GM Energy business unit was opened, which will cooperate with SunPower Corp, reports Bloomberg.
The article noted that such a project is similar to Tesla's energy business, in which panels sold by the automaker charge a battery that provides electricity to homes at night or during blackouts. The home power system will be available alongside an electric version of GM's Chevrolet Silverado, which is expected to go into production in 2023.
“For GM, this is a way to get into the energy storage business while serving EV owners and giving them a cheaper way to charge their cars. As part of the initiative, GM is also entering into agreements with utilities to allow buyers of its electric vehicles to use their vehicle's battery to power their home in the event of a power outage," the authors explained.
Sam Abuelsamid, chief research analyst at Guidehouse Insights, said that the number of power outages is increasing in some regions of the US. Therefore, more companies will compete to sell energy solutions, especially solar panels for home and commercial use. He believes that all major automakers will follow this path.
GM EV Operations Development Vice President Travis Hester noted that the reliability of the US electric grid has never been more important. And GM Energy is committed to offering sustainable energy products and services that can help mitigate the effects of power outages and ensure sustainable and cost-effective energy management.
"We really expect that a large number of GM customers who buy an electric vehicle will eventually want to put solar panels in their home," said Peter Farisi, chief executive officer of SunPower.
As EcoPolitic reported before, automakers General Motors (GM, USA) and Honda (HMC, Japan) jointly will produce affordable electric cars, the cost of which will be less than $30 thousand.
