An increasing number of major car manufacturers are developing solutions in a space that at first glance may seem like a strange choice: energy storage.
BMW recently signed a contract that adds 500 of its i3 battery packs to the UK national energy grid. Audi is running a pilot project. Renault is turning some of its Zoe batteries into a home energy storage solution, and in Japan, both Toyota and Nissan have announced that they will offer battery energy storage.
A closer look reveals many good reasons for car companies to pursue energy storage. Here are five of the biggest.
Electric Is the Future
The strangeness of adding energy storage to the mix fades a bit when considering how much money car companies are investing in batteries. Volkswagen recently announced it plans to spend a whopping $48 billion on batteries in the coming years.
The future of transportation is a subject dear to the hearts of car companies. Their view seems to increasingly be that transportation is going to be a) self-driving and b) electric.
The question for companies becomes: why stop at cars? If you are going to be making batteries anyway, why not explore other markets that need batteries?
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