Google’s smart home division has joined a group of companies including Ford, Sunpower and Sunrun in founding a new partnership centred around scaling the market for virtual power plants (VPP).

Energy storage developer Convergent Energy and Power has deployed a 4MW/8MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) for Ford Motor’s engine plant in Ontario, Canada.

Leading US residential solar and storage provider Sunrun has partnered with automaker Ford as the installer of home charging systems for its F-150 Lightning truck.