Match 31, 2026
Frances Bell, Founder and CEO, Bidirectional Energy
V2G News spoke with Frances Bell, Founder and CEO of Bidirectional Energy, about her path into the vehicle-to-grid space, the current state of residential bidirectional charging, and what it will take to move from early pilot deployments to scalable, customer-facing energy platforms. Drawing on experience across utilities, technology companies, and early-stage deployments, Bell offers a grounded view on where the industry stands today and what it will take to scale
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
V2G News:
To start, could you describe your academic and professional background?
Bell:
I trained as an electrical engineer in undergraduate school and then focused on power systems for a master’s degree at Tufts University.
Early in my career, I developed a thesis that I wanted to make an impact on the energy system and made a deliberate decision to start at a utility, joining PG&E, because I believed that understanding how the system is regulated, operated, and designed would provide insight into where meaningful change could occur.
From there, I had the opportunity to work across the broader energy and technology ecosystem, including roles with companies like Tesla and other leading organizations in the sector, where I gained exposure to both the utility perspective and the rapidly evolving world of distributed energy and electrification.
Being in California also played a role. There is a lot of active policy development and discussion around new technologies, and that environment helped shape my perspective on distributed energy and emerging grid solutions. That experience made it clear that EVs could become grid assets, but only if someone built the layer that connects customers, hardware, utilities, and markets.
V2G News:
Tell us about your decision to start Bidirectional Energy and why you chose to focus on residential bidirectional charging.
Bell:
Bidirectional Energy was built around a simple idea: residential V2G will not scale unless someone connects deployment in the home with ongoing value after installation. Our business has two parts:
- getting a bidirectional charger deployed successfully in homes, and
- operating the software platform that turns those assets into something useful for customers and the grid.
Today, there are still too many hurdles for most customers to navigate on their own, from equipment selection and installation to enrollment and ongoing participation. We saw a clear gap between having the hardware in the home and actually operationalizing it that delivers clear value to both the grid and the customer. Bridging that gap, connecting deployment with realizing customer value, is the core of what we do.
In the long term, I don’t think that the service layer goes away. What will change is how customers enter the market. Today, because residential V2G is still so new, most customers come through the installation process. In the future, they may purchase a bidirectional charger for home backup, move into a home where one is already installed, or encounter the technology through other channels, and then realize they can enroll in a platform to earn value from it. The customer journey will evolve, but there will still be a need to connect in-home technology with real, accessible revenue opportunities.
V2G News:
What is the current size of your team, and how are you positioned to scale as the market grows?
Bell:
We have intentionally kept the team lean. A lot of that is made possible through partnerships. We work closely with installers, charger manufacturers, and vehicle and equipment providers, which allows us to leverage existing capabilities rather than building everything in-house.
Our core team is focused on software engineering and operations and has deep energy expertise coming from companies like Tesla, PG&E, GE, and the Department of Energy. We are already deploying in multiple states and using those programs to build a repeatable operating model that we can carry into other markets
V2G News:
From your perspective, where does residential bidirectional charging stand today?
Bell:
We are at an important inflection point. The hardware is real and being deployed. The next phase is not about proving that the technology works, but about making it usable for everyday customers.
That means solving operational challenges and creating a customer experience that does not require deep technical knowledge. Most people are not going to engage with this as an energy enthusiast. They want something simple that helps them save money or provides backup power without requiring constant attention.
At the same time, we need to align the value streams. The grid needs flexibility at specific times, and customers need to be compensated in a way that reflects that value. Bridging that gap between system needs and customer experience is where much of the work remains.
V2G News:
How important is interoperability, and how close are we to achieving it?
Bell:
I strongly believe in standards, and we are moving in the right direction. But adoption is uneven, and the details of implementation still matter a great deal.
Today, bringing products to market still requires close coordination between specific vehicle and charger manufacturers. That is not sustainable at scale. In the near term, we will continue to see these partnerships drive deployments, even as standards evolve.
From our perspective, interoperability is critical to the long-term success of the market. We aim to be platform-agnostic, but we are also thoughtful about the technologies we integrate with. We look for technologies that have a credible path to supporting multiple vehicles and evolving with the broader ecosystem.
Ultimately, we need to get to a point where the system just works, much like unidirectional charging does today. As standards mature and are more consistently implemented, customers should not have to think about compatibility. That is when the market can really scale.
V2G News:
Bidirectional Energy has been active in several pilot projects. Can you provide an overview?
Bell:
We currently have three major projects underway, including two active state-supported deployments in California and Connecticut. In California, we are part of the California Energy Commission’s (CEC’s) REDWDS initiative; in Connecticut, we’re participating in the Innovative Energy Solutions program. We launched both efforts in October in partnership with Wallbox and Kia, with a shared focus on deploying bidirectional chargers into homes and operationalizing them as grid-connected assets.
Together, these projects represent a step change in scale. The industry is moving from small, proof-of-concept deployments to programs measured in the hundreds of homes. The three grant programs combined have the potential to support more than a thousand bidirectional chargers across the two states. That scale is important because it allows us to move beyond technical validation and start building repeatable operational processes.
The CEC also supports the third project, focusing on transportation electrification in multifamily housing. This is a particularly important use case because, to date, there has not been a clear pathway for multifamily property owners to adopt EV charging. In many cases, it is viewed as a sunk cost with limited direct return.
This demonstration is testing whether bidirectional charging can make multifamily EV charging work better for both property owners and tenants. If the site owner can capture value from the system while tenants receive lower-cost or even free charging, it could unlock EV charging access for a much broader set of customers beyond single-family homes.
V2G News:
What early lessons have you learned from these pilots?
Bell:
The biggest lesson is that this is not just a hardware challenge. It is an operational challenge that spans the entire industry. There are many handoffs across companies, from installation to software to market participation, and each of those needs to work smoothly for the system to function as intended.
Another key insight is that trust is part of the product. This is still a new technology, and early adopters need to feel confident in how it works and what value it delivers. That applies not only to customers, but also to the partners and stakeholders involved in delivering these systems.
What is encouraging is that we are beginning to move from technical proof to operational proof. Instead of demonstrating that a single system works, we are now deploying at a scale of hundreds of installations, where we can start to standardize processes and build repeatable models. That shift is critical if we are going to enable residential bidirectional charging to scale beyond early pilots.
V2G News:
How have customers responded to participating in these programs?
Bell:
Most customers initially come to us because they are interested in home backup. That is the entry point.
Once they see that the same system can also lower utility bills and create value through grid participation, the proposition becomes much stronger. In many cases, it improves the overall economics compared to standalone battery systems.
Many early adopters already understand the technology well, but broader adoption will depend on making the experience simple and the benefits clear.
V2G News:
What will it take to move from pilots to a durable, scalable market?
Bell:
One of the biggest challenges is how virtual power plants are structured today. In many cases, participation is limited to a relatively small number of dispatch events each year, which does not align well with how customers actually use their vehicles.
If we expect these resources to function as real grid assets, program design needs to evolve so participation is more continuous and integrated into normal system operations. As an example, it would be unthinkable to ask a natural gas plant to make its economics work by running only a handful of times per year. If VPPs are going to scale, they need to be structured more like real power plants.
At the same time, participation needs to fit within real-life constraints. If customers miss events because they need their vehicle for daily activities, they can lose a meaningful share of potential revenue, creating a clear misalignment between program design and behavior.
Bidirectional charging adds a new dimension by providing a more controllable and dispatchable form of capacity. That capability can help move the market forward, but only if it is properly integrated and valued.
Ultimately, scaling will require changes on both sides. Programs need to reflect how these resources can operate as reliable grid assets, and incentives need to align with how people actually live.
V2G News:
Looking five years ahead, what is your vision for Bidirectional Energy?
Bell:
I expect residential bidirectional charging to expand through multiple pathways, with regional differences shaping how the market develops. We see two primary models emerging.
The first is utility-led, where bidirectional charging is deployed through utility programs and partnerships.
The second is more market-facing, where aggregated assets increasingly participate in grid and market services as those frameworks mature. As aggregation frameworks continue to develop across regions, bidirectional EVs have the potential to provide meaningful and controllable capacity beyond traditional utility programs.
Bidirectional charging expands what is possible in both pathways. Compared to other distributed resources, it offers a highly flexible and dispatchable form of capacity, which opens new opportunities for both program participation and market-based revenue.
Our role is to build a platform that can support both paths, adapting to local requirements while maintaining a consistent system that connects in-home assets to operational and market value.
V2G News:
Is there anything else the V2G News audience should be paying attention to right now?
Bell:
There are three things I would encourage people to watch closely.
First, delivery: this market will not scale unless the handoffs across hardware, software, installation, interconnection, and program operations become much more coordinated.
Second, customer value: early adopters may tolerate complexity, but broader adoption will require an experience that is clear, reliable, and worth participating in.
Third, repeatability: the industry has shown that the technology can work; the next step is proving that it can be deployed and operated consistently across hundreds, and then thousands, of homes.
That transition will ultimately determine how quickly bidirectional charging moves from early deployments to a meaningful part of the energy system.
