Bidirectional charging is among the coolest options to come back from the EV revolution. In spite of everything, electrical automobiles have a few of the largest batteries a shopper is more likely to personal — why ought to they be restricted to solely powering a pair motors and an infotainment display screen? Why not let that big cellular energy brick cost your own home, your vasectomy, and even your total metropolis?

Normal Motors’ engineers seem to have requested that query, and give you no appropriate cause to not let the corporate’s EVs ship energy out to different gadgets. The corporate introduced that, by 2026, each car constructed on its Ultium EV platform will function bidirectional charging.

After all, like something accomplished by an organization, the choice sounds neither purely altruistic nor purely for the sake of including neat options. The 2026 date is suspiciously near California’s proposed mandate — the state is actively contemplating a invoice to mandate bidirectional charging in EVs starting in 2027. Whether or not the invoice passes or not, GM will slip neatly underneath the deadline.

However simply because a function comes about underneath risk of mandate doesn’t imply it’s unhealthy. Bidirectional charging is objectively good, particularly contemplating America’s quickly crumbling electrical infrastructure. Texas might don’t have any thinking about making any adjustments to its energy grid, however outage-inducing storms would probably be much less deadly if each home had a backup battery sitting within the storage.

Bidirectional charging may be something from a neat gimmick to a lifesaving bandage that covers deadly flaws in our nation’s infrastructure, however GM’s plan to implement it across its electrified lineup is a internet profit. Worst case situation, it’s a function that goes unused by consumers. In one of the best case, although, it may save somebody’s very life.