In 2008, University of Michigan researchers won a $2 million grant to make parked EVs feed power back to the grid. 18 years later, some firms have reached commercial offerings, turning some parked cars into grid-connected batteries

In 2008, University of Michigan researchers received a $2 million grant to test a simple premise: drawing power back from parked vehicles. Eighteen years later, that lab experiment has become a working commercial reality. Automakers and utility companies now link parked electric cars into coordinated battery networks. During peak demand, these vehicles feed stored energy straight back into neighborhood grids. What began as academic theory is quietly transforming how communities store clean power.