Total control of power usage: from solar to EV and back to the house. Bidirectional charging promises to completely transform the vehicle ownership experience. Once an EV can double as a stationary storage device, it will take its place as part of an energy ecosystem that includes rooftop solar and energy management—and could even become… Read more »
Bidirectional charging is the technology of the hour. It enables vehicle-to-grid—or should we say, vehicle-to-anything (V2X)—applications, which promise to greatly facilitate the integration of EVs and renewable energy into the grid, to offer opportunities for fleets to offset their electrification costs, and to allow other handy capabilities, such as backup power. Now Volkswagen has given… Read more »
A major government trial of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology in Australia will demonstrate the Nissan LEAF’s ability to supply energy to a home or commercial site, or to feed power back to the grid, thanks to its built-in bidirectional charging capability. The Realising Electric Vehicle Services (REVS) project is a precursor to the customer launch of… Read more »
Bidirectional charging encompasses several applications that can be collectively referred to as V2x (vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-home, maybe someday vehicle-to-brain). It’s expected to play an important role in tomorrow’s electrified, connected transportation ecosystem, but to date it exists only in pilots, most of them involving commercial fleets. So the new Quasar bidirectional EV charger from Barcelona-based Wallbox,… Read more »
David Slutzky, an accomplished entrepreneur, has an eclectic background. In addition to having founded several successful companies, he’s served as a local elected official as well as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Clinton White House and the EPA. He’s been teaching at the University of Virginia for some time, on the Commerce, Architecture and… Read more »
Nissan’s Global Director of Electric Vehicles, Nic Thomas, recently took a trip Down Under for the Australian launch of the Nissan LEAF Plus. In his speech, he highlighted the LEAF’s bidirectional charging capability, which he said is already being used in Japan, and is expected to be available in Australia within months. Nissan Australia’s Manager… Read more »
The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has learned a new trick. The plug-in SUV is now able to supply electrical power to a home using Mitsubishi’s SMART V2H (vehicle-to-home) system. The feature, which can be used with current Outlander PHEVs (with the optional CHAdeMO quick charging socket) is so far available only in Japan. The V2H system… Read more »
Nissan has begun testing its LEAF to Home power supply system, which aims to use EV technology to help power grids cope with peaks in demand, provide power during natural disasters, and make electricity from renewable sources more viable. Energy management firm Eneres is conducting the tests, using LEAF EVs at several Nissan sales outlets…. Read more »
Eight of the top global automakers are collaborating with the Electric Power Research Institute, 15 utility companies and Sumitomo Electric to develop a two-way communication platform that would allow plug-in vehicles from all participating manufacturers to communicate with power grids via the cloud. The new technology, which was demonstrated this week, enables utilities to send… Read more »
Nissan has completed a successful early field test of a system designed to allow companies to use employee EVs to regulate and reduce their electricity bills. Vehicle-To-Building technology allows up to six LEAFs to be connected to a building’s power supply. At peak hours, the building draws power from the cars, then, during off-peak hours… Read more »