Toyota Motor North America and Oncor, a Texas-based electric transmission and distribution company, will collaborate on a pilot project around vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which allows vehicles to flow energy from their battery back onto the electric grid.

Led by Toyota’s Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions (EVCS) team, the collaboration marks the first public utility agreement for Toyota in the U.S. around battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).

The results from the research will allow Toyota and Oncor to be better prepared to support the broader EV charging ecosystem in the U.S. The collaboration aims to provide both companies insight into the current and future needs of their customers. It also intends to provide Oncor a better understanding on the infrastructure needed to enable the rapid growth of EVs and EV charging infrastructure and the impact of V2G on the electric grid.

Toyota aims for their BEVs to be “utilized by our customers to power their homes, their communities or even power back the electric grid in times of need,” said Christopher Yang, group vice president of Toyota’s EVCS team.

Toyota and Oncor have initially agreed to a research project that will use Oncor’s research and testing microgrid at its System Operating Services Facility in south Dallas. The two companies plan to use a BEV along with the system to better understand the interconnectivity between BEVs and utilities.

A second phase of the project, slated for 2023, will include a V2G pilot testing that will be conducted with BEVs connected at homes or businesses within Oncor’s service territory.