BYD is partnering with Levo Mobility to integrate Nuvve’s vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology with a variety of commercial, public transport and heavy-duty BYD battery electric vehicles. The project will create up to 5,000 BYD battery electric vehicles (BEVs) over the next five years.
Through a preferred financing partnership with BYD, Levo plans to purchase the 5,000 medium- and heavy-duty V2G-enabled electric vehicles, which will be a mix of transit buses and coaches, yard tractors, drayage and refuse trucks, last-mile delivery vehicles and school buses, according to a BYD release.
“The BYD-Levo collaboration has the potential to accelerate and transform the transportation sector at a critical time,” said BYD Motors President Stella Li. “This innovative potential partnership leverages state-of-the-art BYD and Nuvve technologies and will provide access to Stonepeak’s financing, which will lower the cost of medium- and heavy-duty battery electric vehicle adoption for fleets of all types, including mass transit, municipalities, last mile delivery and school districts.”
BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is a global manufacturer of electric vehicles, with $20 billion in annual revenues and 65,000 vehicles, including transit buses and motor coaches, deployed worldwide. The company has 220,000 employees across the globe, including nearly 1,000 in North America.
Levo Mobility was created in 2021 when the California-based V2G specialist Nuvve and private equity firm Stonepeak formed the joint venture, Levo Mobility.
Integrated into power grid
Nuvve’s proprietary V2G technology uses high-powered bidirectional charging stations, which not only charge the batteries but also discharge energy from the batteries back into the power grid as needed to help balance temporary spikes in electricity demand.
Utilizing Nuvve’s bidirectional charging stations and proprietary software, the BEVs can act as energy storage assets, discharging megawatts of capacity to the grid and performing other services that help stabilize the grid and prevent blackouts while ensuring that each BEV has enough charge for the next trip. In addition to saving electric fleets money by charging when utility rates are low, Nuvve’s platform also enables revenue opportunities from these grid services.
Levo’s comprehensive offering streamlines electrification by providing fleet owners and operators with a turnkey solution that includes electric vehicles, associated charging infrastructure and energy management powered by Nuvve, maintenance, site planning and more. These services are provided to customers for a fixed monthly payment with no upfront cost.
Savings from Day One
“Our collaboration with BYD continues the momentum of transportation electrification that Nuvve is passionate about,” said Gregory Poilasne, Chairman and CEO of Nuvve and Chairman of Levo Mobility. “By integrating our V2G platform with a variety of medium- and heavy-duty electric fleets, we can introduce these vehicles to the grid in a much more intelligent and sustainable way, help integrate more renewable energy sources, and ultimately accelerate the reduction of harmful CO2 emissions.”
The collaboration means that BYD’s customers now have an option to avoid up-front costs and immediately enjoy the immense benefits of electric vehicles, including immediate, Day One fuel and maintenance savings, according to Trent Kososki, Managing Director at Stonepeak.
“Our joint efforts aim to rapidly accelerate deployments of safe, cost-effective and environmentally friendly electric transportation solutions leveraging Levo’s fully financed solution,” he said.
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