Smart Garage Charrette Report

The Smart Garage report describes a system where electrified vehicles (xEVs) communicate with the grid and buildings to optimize energy use. The document identifies a near-term focus on 'V1G' (smart one-way charging) as a practical first step toward a long-term 'V2G' (bi-directional charging) vision. It analyzes the ecosystem's value chain—including OEMs, utilities, and 'connectors'—and identifies five primary barriers: uncertain consumer demand, high battery costs, infrastructure funding, fragmented utility regulation, and a lack of communication standards. To address these, the report proposes six collaborative projects to quantify demand, analyze battery second-life value, and establish national policy frameworks.

• The charrette participants reached a consensus that the most viable near-term implementation is 'V1G', which involves highly integrated systems performing sophisticated one-way charging. This approach provides many benefits with lower cost and complexity than bi-directional charging (V2G) and could be launched within two to five years.
• Uncertainty regarding mainstream consumer demand is identified as the most significant system-wide barrier, creating a 'chicken-and-egg' problem where OEMs are hesitant to produce xEVs in volume without proven demand, and consumers are hesitant to buy without available infrastructure.
• High battery costs and performance uncertainties at scale represent a major financial barrier. Participants estimated that battery pack costs in 2015 would likely be around $550/kWh, though some expect them to drop to $400/kWh within a few years.
• The lack of uniform regulatory policies across the 3,000+ retail utilities in the U.S. is a critical barrier. The report suggests a bottom-up, voluntary alliance to push for a uniform federal policy framework rather than top-down legislation.
• Charging infrastructure funding is a primary hurdle because electricity sales alone provide a slow return on investment. The report suggests that the value of non-electricity services, such as advertising or grid services, may be the primary financial driver for installation.
• A critical enabler for V1G is the development of communication standards. Current efforts include SAE J2836 and J2847 standards and the Smart Energy Profile (SEP) Alliance, which aim to balance rigidity for interoperability with flexibility for innovation.
• RMI's financial model indicates that utilities could be the largest winners in the Smart Garage ecosystem due to avoided cost benefits, new revenues, and ancillary service benefits, provided regulators allow them to realize these gains.
• To mitigate high upfront costs for OEMs and consumers, the report suggests separating battery ownership from the vehicle, potentially treating the battery as a consumable or utilizing secondary markets for stationary storage.

APA

Brylawski, M., Burns, C., Chan-Lizardo, K., Cohen, B., Demaria, A., Gately, M., Hansen, L., Harvey, N., Johns, S., Lovins, A. B., Low, C., Ponce, J., Riley, C., Schewel, L., Simpson, M., Wang, K., Wells, L., & Wilson, J. (2008). Smart Garage Charrette Report. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_SmartGarageCharretteReport_2.10.pdf

Chicago

Brylawski, Michael, Cam Burns, Kristine Chan-Lizardo, Bennett Cohen, Andrew Demaria, Mark Gately, Lena Hansen, et al. Smart Garage Charrette Report. RMI, 2008. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_SmartGarageCharretteReport_2.10.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{brylawski2008smart, author = {Brylawski, Michael and Burns, Cam and Chan-Lizardo, Kristine and Cohen, Bennett and Demaria, Andrew and Gately, Mark and Hansen, Lena and Harvey, Ned and Johns, Stephanie and Lovins, Amory B. and Low, Chris and Ponce, Jamie and Riley, Chad and Schewel, Laura and Simpson, Mike and Wang, Kitty and Wells, Llewellyn and Wilson, Jenn}, title = {{Smart Garage Charrette Report}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2008}, month = dec, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_SmartGarageCharretteReport_2.10.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }