GM PowerBank home energy storage arrives, could outflex Tesla

General Motors is now rolling out its PowerBank energy-storage battery packs, providing the first real competition to the Tesla Powerwall home energy-storage system directly from an automaker.

While other automakers have discussed energy-storage products, and the Ford F-150 Lightning can be had with a home backup power system, GM appears to be the first to bring actual battery packs to market in the U.S. since Tesla.

Part of GM’s big energy play that sees EVs becoming home power banks and more, PowerBanks are available in 10.6-kwh and 17.7-kwh capacities as part of vehicle-to-home bundles that also include chargers and inverters needed to connect these batteries to EVs and home electrical systems. GM previously said V2H bundles would only be available for purchase in California, Florida, Michigan, New York, and Texas, but now the company boasts 50-state availability.

Customers can also combine two 17.7-kwh packs, with the resulting 35.4 kwh enough to power the average American home for up to 20 hours, GM claims. And the available charger connects energy-storage systems to GM EVs, allowing owners to potentially tap into the entire battery capacity, which for the biggest electric trucks is up to 205 kwh.

GM confirmed last summer that it plans to expand bidirectional charging throughout its entire EV lineup—for what was called Ultium—by the 2026 model year. So owners of all new GM EVs will be able to use their vehicles as home backup power sources by that time.

GM Energy home system with PowerBank energy storage

Complete home-energy systems with PowerBank units start at $12,700. GM previously confirmed pricing of $1,699 for the Powershift Charger that’s initially mandatory to access EVs’ bidirectional charging functionality and $5,600 for the V2H Enablement Kit. The kit includes all necessary hardware for energy-storage installation, minus the battery pack itself.

Tesla currently offers one 13.5-kwh capacity for its Powerwall systems, with varied outputs of up to 11.5 kw and the ability to bundle with home solar installations. But the key difference may be interfaces, as it remains to be seen whether GM’s app can provide anything close to the easy flexibility of the Tesla app for EVs and all things energy.

2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV with GM Ultium Home energy system

GM first detailed this equipment in mid-2023. But at that time a different partner, SunPower, was due to provide installation and support. It had tested the tech leading to this equipment set with pilot programs in California starting in 2022. GM announced a switch to Qmerit as the provider this spring, and in August SunPower—one of the most popular choices for solar a decade ago—filed for bankruptcy.