Vehicle-to-grid technology just got smarter with the expansion of Verizon’s 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength

Verizon Ventures recently announced a strategic investment in Fermata Energy, a leader in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems. Verizon Ventures joined in Fermata Energy’s $40 million Series A round, led by the Carlyle Group. Other new and existing investors include ClearSky, Skyview Ventures, I Squared Capital, and Waterland Private Equity.

Today Verizon and AWS are now offering mobile edge computing in more U.S. metro areas with the addition of Charlotte, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength, a real-time cloud computing platform, brings AWS compute and storage services to the edge of Verizon’s wireless network.

The combination minimizes the latency and network hops required to connect from an application hosted on the platform to the end user’s device. Launched in August 2020, the companies currently offer mobile edge computing via AWS Wavelength Zones in 17 locations in the U.S. Using 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength allows developers and businesses to build and deploy a variety of applications such as machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and video and game streaming.

For example, leveraging this technology Fermata Energy was able to dispatch an EV as a valuable energy resource providing near real-time response to the state of the grid.

Fermata Energy  participated in the 5G Studio a collaboration between Verizon and Newlab, to develop transformative technology solutions leveraging Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network technology and Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength at Newlab.

Fermata Energy’s Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology turns electric vehicles (EVs) into mini power plants by discharging energy services from EVs’ batteries to the home, building, or energy grid. Using a bidirectional charger connected both to an EV and a building’s energy load, Fermata Energy’s cloud-based software, running on Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength, reacted to changes in the grid and, as a result, load-balance data in near real-time with very low latency, according to Fermata Energy. This allows Fermata Energy to dispatch an EV as a valuable energy resource providing near real-time response to the state of the grid.