GM pitches EVs as a distributed utility while Ford builds grid batteries instead

America’s electric grid is reeling, and the fight for who gets paid to fix it is moving from utilities to automakers. At a San Francisco event Tuesday called GM Empower, General Motors pitched something that sounds like a software startup but is really a hardware-and-regulation play: it wants EVs and batteries to function as a distributed utility in disguise. GM’s pitch is that a large, already-deployed fleet of vehicles can become a virtual network of power plants. The bet is that this matters more now than ever, because AI data centers are straining demand and the grid is not adapting fast enough.

GM’s core mechanism is straightforward, at least on paper. The company says more than 250,000 of its EVs on U.S. roads can already charge bidirectionally, meaning they can pull electricity from the grid and send it back. GM Energy vice president Wade Sheffer wrote in an open letter that “every evening, a quiet transformation occurs across the American landscape,” with EVs sitting in driveways described as “a massive opportunity to aggregate energy storage capacity.” GM says a firmware update is rolling out to customers with GM Energy’s vehicle-to-home hardware, converting those systems into full vehicle-to-grid assets without adding new hardware, and turning home backup systems into grid resources when utilities need them. GM is piloting the concept in Michigan with DTE Energy at 30 employee homes, and it has sketched a 2030 vision with Pacific Gas & Electric that would use more than 52,000 GM EVs to help balance the grid out of a projected 130,000 vehicles in the area.

That “vehicle-to-grid” idea lands in a moment when reliability planners are warning about capacity gaps. In January 2026, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warned that U.S. electricity demand is surging faster than the grid can adapt, with summer peak load projected to rise by about 224 gigawatts over the next decade, nearly 70% higher than last year’s forecast, even as new capacity lags. NERC said more than half of the regions it studied could face resource-adequacy problems in that window, and it partly attributes the worsening outlook to data centers. GM’s argument is that storage does not only need to be built at substations and in utility yards. It can also be “sitting” in cars and homes, if regulators and rates treat it like useful capacity rather than emergency backup.

GM is trying to make that case using three planks. First is the existing fleet and its upgrade path. Second is stationary storage aimed directly at the data center-driven appetite for grid help. GM is developing sodium-ion batteries with Peak Energy, arguing the chemistry’s lower cost, abundant materials, and wide temperature tolerance make it better suited for substations and data centers than lithium formulas optimized for cars. Kurt Kelty, GM vice president for battery and sustainability, wrote that in grid-scale stationary storage systems, if GM can make the cell safer and more robust, it can remove complexity elsewhere in the system. GM is also using its Ultium Cells joint venture to make LFP storage cells and working with Redwood Materials to put thousands of second-life EV packs into microgrids, including a 7.2 MWh system at a Michigan plant. GM says that system could save more than $3 million in power over its lifetime. Third is software, and GM is launching Energy Pass, a single interface inside its myChevrolet, myCadillac, and myGMC apps to help drivers find, start, and pay for charging across Tesla’s Supercharger network, Electrify America, and IONNA, with EVgo and ChargePoint to follow. GM says those five networks cover nearly 70% of accessible U.S. DC fast chargers, and that after one-time enrollment drivers can check live charger status, review history, and at compatible stations have “Plug & Charge” handle authentication and billing automatically.

Energy Pass is not just a convenience feature in GM’s telling. GM says the same app is meant to become the front door to its broader energy ambitions, including managing home backup, scheduling charging, and eventually enrolling cars in utility programs that pay drivers for supporting the grid. GM chief product officer Sterling Anderson argued at GM Empower that “the real bottleneck is energy,” and described a future where electric vehicles, the batteries that power them, and the country’s power grids work together. In other words, GM is trying to link consumer behavior, charging logistics, and grid incentives into one ecosystem.

Ford, of course, is telling a different story. After EV demand fell short and battery plants sat underused, Ford carved out Ford Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary more interested in selling batteries to the grid than turning pickups into power plants. Ford is repurposing Michigan and Kentucky factories to build lithium iron phosphate “DC Block” storage systems for utilities, data centers, and industry, targeting at least 20 GWh of annual capacity. It has signed a five-year framework deal with EDF’s North American power arm for up to 20 GWh of grid-scale systems, with deliveries beginning in 2028. Ford executives have signaled the shift is partly aimed at salvaging capital committed during the EV boom while tapping new utility and data center demand.

If GM is trying to orchestrate millions of batteries on both sides of the meter, Ford is taking a more traditional industrial supplier approach, making standard battery blocks for a grid that needs storage. Both are clearly eyeing data centers, renewables, and grid resilience as growth markets, and both are racing to sign first big contracts. The hard part is regulatory. GM’s vision is political, not technical: in an open letter to utilities and regulators, GM Energy calls its bidirectionally capable EVs a “massive, distributed power asset waiting to be integrated,” urging states to streamline interconnection, redesign rates so owners are paid for supporting the grid, and make enrollment as easy as tapping an app. GM estimates its current vehicle-to-home-capable fleet could in theory power roughly 120,000 homes for up to a week.

But GM is not set up as a utility. Utilities are regulated monopolies with strict reliability obligations and long planning cycles, while automakers ship hardware and typically leave customer handling to dealers. Persuading regulators to treat millions of privately owned cars as dependable capacity rather than emergency backup could take years of proof. Customers could also balk at regular battery usage even if it comes with bill credits, especially amid worries about range and degradation. Still, Detroit courting utilities and data centers with retooled battery strategies is a signal in itself: as AI load grows and NERC’s maps turn redder, the EV story is getting a new sequel. For executives watching adjacent industries, the strategic stake is clear. GM is betting the next wave of power economics will reward orchestrators. Ford is betting it will reward manufacturers. Either way, the grid is becoming a market, and the companies with credible capacity, software reach, and regulatory pathways will cash the check before the lights go out.