General Motors announced it is getting into the solar energy and battery storage business with a new GM Energy division. The new group will take on Tesla and others, letting EV and business owners generate and store electricity.

Earlier this year, GM shared details on a pilot program to use its new Silverado EV as a power source to help the energy grid in California. Now, it looks like the automaker wants to take an even deeper approach to solar and energy storage and use.

It sounds like GM is ready to challenge Tesla and will take it head-on in the consumer energy space. GM Energy will combine its already available Ultium Charge 360 platform for EVs with a new Ultium Home and Ultium Commercial service.

Like Tesla’s Powerwall, GM Energy will sell battery storage options and solar panels to businesses and consumers, along with hydrogen fuel cells. The service is set to launch by the end of 2023 alongside the new Chevrolet Silverado-E electric truck. As for solar panels, GM partnered with SunPower Corp.

With GM Energy products, users can use solar panels to power their homes and electric vehicles, store power on property, and even sell power back to the energy grid. And in emergencies, an EV owner could even power their home from a vehicle’s battery cells.

In an interview with Reuters, Travis Hester, head of General Motors EV Growth Operations, said, “We’re getting into the entire ecosystem of energy management. Our competition in this space on the (automaker) side is really only Tesla, which is a strong energy management company. There are a lot of analogies you can draw with Tesla.”

It sounds like large storage units will be available on the commercial side of things, while smaller hydrogen fuel cell “microgrids” can be installed in the homes of regular vehicle owners. In the future, GM Energy users could harness power from the sun to power a home or charge an EV and even store that power for use later.

Expect to learn more in 2023 as the Silverado E release date nears.

via Business Insider