CES 2015| BMW Announced The i ChargeForward Program

“I really do encourage other manufacturers to bring electric cars to market. It’s a good thing, and they need to bring it to market and keep iterating and improving–and make better and better electric cars, and that’s what going to result in humanity achieving a sustainable transport faster than it is.” — Elon Musk

It’s obvious that both Tesla Motors and BMW are the hardest working automakers to advance the technology of electric cars. Since 2012, Tesla has installed its “Supercharge” rapid car charging network at an initial six locations throughout California, offering indefinite free charging for Tesla Model S owners. And now, at CES 2015 in Las Vegas, BMW has just announced its partnership with California-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to launch the BMW i ChargeForward Program, which is aimed to better understand the relationship between home EV charging and the energy grid. The pilot study will supposedly happen in 18 month and is offering incentives of up to $1,540 in charging to those who qualify and are based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Starting in January 2015, BMW i3 owners in the Bay Area will be able to apply to be one of the 100 participants of this project. The information obtained from this research will help BMW to develop a system for smart charging of electric vehicles, which will “reduce grid load at peak times and to make greater use of renewable energy through staggered charging of the vehicles, while giving priority to the individual mobility requirements of the BMW i3 drivers”, according to BMW’s Spokesman. In addition, the field trial will also explore the possibilities for reusing ex-EV batteries as stationary electric storage system, buffering electricity that can then be fed back to the grid during periods of high demand.These smart charge stations feature high-performance BMW i Wallbox Technology, allowing you to charge a BMW i3 in approximately 3.5 hours

The Program will be officially debuted from July 2015 through December 2016. To be considered for the BMW i ChargeForward program, you can submit your email here.

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