100 years ago Henry Ford and Thomas Edison ceded automobile transport from electric to the internal combustion engine. In doing so, Ford and Edison gifted the oil industry the most lucrative recurring revenue stream ever seen and what is now the largest generator of greenhouse gas emissions and the third largest industry behind only food and alcohol.

Today, for the first time, car and electric companies have the opportunity to regain that lost recurring income: through the sale of electricity charging EVs. This represents vast amounts of electricity, which can be renewable and clean, reducing the GHG emissions and export of trillions of dollars overseas. Additionally, electric car companies can tap into "grid services" revenues: rather than turn on an expensive and dirty peaker plant, utilities pay the OEMs, through companies such as Enel X Way, to reduce charging load during specific times. Through smart, self-learning algorithms "in the cloud" drivers, of course, would still get their cars fully charged when they need them.

25 million or more EVs are expected to be on the road by 2025. If even a fraction of those EVs all decided to charge up at the same time in a utility's territory, it could wreak havoc on the electrical grid. Utilities want EV loads they can balance, and OEMs want recurring revenue and a cleaner energy mix they can provide their drivers.

Enel X Way’s growing software and grid services is enabled by its award-winning JuiceNet platform, which employs automated, multi-tiered control algorithms and load balancing to allow EV drivers the flexibility to charge their cars on the cleanest and least expensive energy available. At the same time, the JuiceNet platform gives utilities the real-time visibility of major grid parameters and control of EV charging demand. With this visibility, Enel X Way helps grid operators and utilities improve load distribution and grid stability while minimizing the need for expensive generation or transmission & distribution infrastructure upgrades.

Read more of the story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison and this discussion about the world's biggest industries.