Fresno EOC Taps Nuvve (NASDAQ: NVVE) To Transition To An EV Fleet Without Taxing The Powergrid In $16 Million Deal

From cars to buses, the electrification of vehicles is taking off. But powering all that green energy is expected to tax the power grid, an aging system long in need of an overhaul. That is making the transition to an EV future more difficult. After all, what is the point of having a fleet of EV cars or buses if it causes outages or over-taxes the grid? Meeting the future demand requires major changes from adding more high-voltage transmission lines to transformers for last-mile delivery, which can be expensive. Take California for one example. One study pegs the cost of updating the state’s power grid at $50 billion by 2035. 

Until that happens, Nuvve Holding Corp. NVVE, the cleantech company from San Diego, has a solution. The clean energy company has found a way to electrify fleets of cars and buses without overloading the power grid thanks to its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. The cutting-edge and potentially game-changing technology turns EVs into moving storage systems, reducing the cost of ownership and bringing stability to the power grid, turning parking lots into v2g hubs. 

Nuvve’s New Deal 

That technology was on display this week when Nuvve won a contract from the Board of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (Fresno EOC) to implement the company’s turnkey fleet electrification program for Fresno EOC’s 50-shuttle fleet. 

Fresno EOC, one of the country’s biggest nonprofits, oversees more than 35 human services programs to help underserved populations in California's Fresno County become more self-sufficient. It uses its bus fleet to transport community members to and from work, school and medical appointments, deliver meals and fill other transportation needs to support its mission. The non-profit also operates a large kitchen, which requires a lot of energy. Transitioning to an EV fleet will not only save the non-profit money but help improve the air quality in the community. 

“Fresno as a community has historically endured poor air quality due to tailpipe emissions from the Los Angeles basin and gas-fired peaker power plants," said Nuvve co-founder and CEO Gregory Poilasne. "With the adoption of our cutting-edge electric vehicle-to-grid software and infrastructure, that allows us to turn parking lots into power plants, this project can serve as a model approach for modern, efficient and eco-friendly public transportation.”

Under the terms of the deal, which is valued at $16 million, Fresno EOC will buy and deploy 50 electric Class-A shuttles at a rate of ten per year over five years. The non-profit will also install a 2.5-megawatt on-site solar generation and battery energy storage system to charge the new electric shuttle fleet. Nuvve will provide its proprietary Nuvve GIVe™ software platform and V2G technology, transforming the Fresno EOC deployment into a “V2G Hub.” Nuvve’s AI-assisted GIVe software platform enables EV fleet owners to manage many aspects of their vehicles, including optimizing the readiness of their vehicles, monitoring and optimizing the energy used to power their vehicles, providing grid services and managing the health of the battery.

Nuvve’s Technology Validation

News of the deal sent shares of Nuvve higher as the win not only validates the company’s technology but is a case study in how to electrify a fleet without overloading the grid. With this V2G Hub project, Nuvve will install solar and use the vehicles to help power the facility during peaks of demand and charge the vehicles when it’s off-peak. That enables Fresno EOC to not only lower costs and reduce pollution but also have a stable energy source, something the non-profit welcomes. After all, the county has among the least resilient grids which makes rolling out EVs a perilous endeavor without a company like Nuvve. 

That’s just in Fresno County. One study found power outages more than doubled over the past six years compared to the previous six years, which means demand could grow for Nuvve’s approach. In the public sector alone, there are 480,000 school buses, 225,000 postal vehicles, 170,000 military transports and 160,000 public transit buses in need of electrification. If all of them were powered by Nuvve’s V2G technology, it represents a $3.5 billion to $6.9 billion annual opportunity, according to the company. Add nonprofits and private companies to the mix and you can see why the company and its investors are so optimistic.  

"This project is crucial, and it's important for the community to understand our commitment to lowering carbon emissions and advocating for renewable energy. It's also about raising awareness on energy conservation and tackling climate change," Thomas Dulin, Director of Fresno EOC Transit Systems, said of the deal. "There's no better method to showcase the financial and environmental benefits than through the implementation of an electrified fleet that exemplifies cutting-edge energy conservation."

Featured photo by Hobi industri on Unsplash.

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