Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§17014 Research and Development Into Integrating Electric Vehicles Onto the Electric Grid

Title 42 › CHAPTER 152 — ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND SECURITY › SUBCHAPTER I — IMPROVED VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY › § 17014

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must create a research, development, and demonstration program to help electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, work with the electric grid. Not later than 1 year after December 27, 2020, the Secretary must send a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. The report must study research and demo needs, problems, and standards for connecting electric vehicles to the grid. It must cover using EVs to support grid reliability (like demand response, load shifting, emergency backup, and frequency help), reusing used EV batteries for storage, effects on batteries and warranties from two-way power flow, impacts on distribution infrastructure and daily electricity patterns, smart charging and incentives to shift charging, communications and charging standards (with NIST), cybersecurity needs, and whether technologies can be used at Department facilities. The Secretary must make a 10-year roadmap and consult manufacturers, utilities, regulators, battery and charger makers, National Laboratories, and other federal agencies. The report must be updated every 3 years for the life of the program. When running the program, the Secretary must follow the report’s recommendations and coordinate across Department program offices, including the Office of Electricity. The Secretary must also work with the National Laboratories to build testing, rapid prototyping, and optimization capabilities for technologies that link EVs to the grid.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §17014

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

The Secretary shall establish a research, development, and demonstration program to advance the integration of electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, onto the electric grid.

(b)Vehicles-to-grid integration assessment report

Not later than 1 year after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the results of a study that examines the research, development, and demonstration opportunities, challenges, and standards needed for integrating electric vehicles onto the electric grid.

(1)Report requirements

The report shall include—

(A)an evaluation of the use of electric vehicles to maintain the reliability of the electric grid, including—

(i)the use of electric vehicles for demand response, load shaping, emergency power, and frequency regulation; and

(ii)the potential for the reuse of spent electric vehicle batteries for stationary grid storage;

(B)the impact of grid integration on electric vehicles, including—

(i)the impact of bi-directional electricity flow on battery degradation; and

(ii)the implications of the use of electric vehicles for grid services on original equipment manufacturer warranties;

(C)the impacts to the electric grid of increased penetration of electric vehicles, including—

(i)the distribution grid infrastructure needed to support an increase in charging capacity;

(ii)strategies for integrating electric vehicles onto the distribution grid while limiting infrastructure upgrades;

(iii)the changes in electricity demand over a 24-hour cycle due to electric vehicle charging behavior;

(iv)the load increases expected from electrifying the transportation sector;

(v)the potential for customer incentives and other managed charging stations strategies to shift charging off-peak;

(vi)the technology needed to achieve bi-directional power flow on the distribution grid; and

(vii)the implementation of smart charging techniques;

(D)research on the standards needed to integrate electric vehicles with the grid, including communications systems, protocols, and charging stations, in collaboration with the National Institute for Standards and Technology;

(E)the cybersecurity challenges and needs associated with electrifying the transportation sector; and

(F)an assessment of the feasibility of adopting technologies developed under the program established under subsection (a) at Department facilities.

(2)Recommendations

As part of the Vehicles-to-Grid Integration Assessment Report, the Secretary shall develop a 10-year roadmap to guide the research, development, and demonstration program to integrate electric vehicles onto the electric grid.

(3)Consultation

In developing this report, the Secretary shall consult with relevant stakeholders, including—

(A)electric vehicle manufacturers;

(B)electric utilities;

(C)public utility commissions;

(D)vehicle battery manufacturers;

(E)electric vehicle supply equipment manufacturers;

(F)charging infrastructure manufacturers;

(G)the National Laboratories; and

(H)other Federal agencies, as the Secretary determines appropriate.

(4)Updates

The Secretary shall update the report required under this section every 3 years for the duration of the program under section (a) and shall submit the updated report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.

(c)Program implementation

In carrying out the research, development, demonstration, and commercial application aims of section, the Secretary shall—

(1)implement the recommendations set forth in the report in subsection (b); and

(2)coordinate across all relevant program offices at the Department to achieve the goals established in this section, including the Office of Electricity.

(d)Testing capabilities

The Secretary shall coordinate with the National Laboratories to develop testing capabilities for the evaluation, rapid prototyping, and optimization of technologies enabling integration of electric vehicles onto the electric grid.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 17014

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110