A Quebec-based company’s home battery system is now part of at least two major utility experiments testing electric vehicles as mobile power sources for the United States grid.

The two pilots are using V2X–or, “vehicle to everything”– technologies that allow homeowners to use the batteries in their EVs not only to draw power from the grid for charging, but also to store energy and discharge it back to the grid as needed, either for home use or to support the grid. V2X systems have also been promoted for their potential to expand grid capacity without needing to build new, costly infrastructure.

In Massachusetts, the state’s Clean Energy Center’s (MassCEC) V2X Pilot Program uses the Ara home energy station produced by Quebec-based company dcbel. The Ara monitors home electricity use and generation—such as from EVs, solar panels, or storage in battery systems—to manage the dwelling’s engagement with the grid.

MassCEC fully subsidizes the cost of the US$10,000 system and even installs it for participating homeowners in exchange for access to the EV battery’s stored power during blackouts. Participants can save up to $1,300 per year by using the system to control their grid use to pay for electricity during off-peak hours, which can then be stored and used during peak hours. Drivers are eligible to join if they own or lease a 2018 to 2025 Nissan Leaf, a 2025 Polestar 3, or a 2025 Volvo EX90, and do not already have solar or storage installed, dcbel writes in a release.

On the other side of the U.S. in California, Ara is being used in a Pacific Gas and Electric V2X pilot. Drivers enrolled in California’s Responsive, Easy Charging Products with Dynamic Signals (REDWDS) grant program can make up to $3,200 annually by discharging stored electricity back to the grid.

But despite the incentives, enrollment in these programs remains low. While REDWDS has more than 20,000 participants in its larger managed EV charging programs to shift charging times to off-peak hours, the bidirectional charging pilot had only 51 participants as of July 2026, reported PV Magazine. The MassCEC program includes only 45 residents.

Part of the issue is limited technology. The Center for Sustainable Energy said that, as of this past May, only about 40 EV models offer bidirectional capabilities, and only a handful support full V2X.

Regulation is another issue, with most grid regulations for EVs set up for one-way charging. Energy economist Steve Letendre, senior advisor to the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council and founder and editor of V2G News, told Microgrid Knowledge that “bidirectional charging technology is trapped by one-way rules.” Most jurisdictions only allow rooftop solar to export power from homes to the grid, while EVs are prohibited.