Over the past weeks we’ve had a lot of interesting news on bi-directional charging/V2X/V2G.

Renault AC V2G: The Renault 5 EV will get a bi-directional onboard charger for AC V2G! Mobilize, Renault’s charging energy unit made the big announcement. The V2G service is set to launch 2024 in Germany and France, as well as 2025 in the UK. A few components will need to be integrated to make this possible:

The Renault R5 EV and it’s bi-directional onboard charger (7-22kW power output, made by Renault and/or a Tier 1 automotive supplier)

The Mobilize Powerbox, a bidirectional AC charging station designed in collaboration with teams from Software République (Orange, Renault Group, STMicroelectronics, and Thales) along with their technology partner IoTecha.

A Mobilize electricity contract, provided by technology partner The Mobility House, which guarantees carbon-neutral electricity and serves to monetize energy injected back into the grid through automated bidirectional charging management.

A smartphone app used to program bidirectional charging, simply by setting the time when the vehicle is going to be used next and the desired battery level. It goes without saying that the need for mobility will always remain a priority.

Takeaway: Renault is betting big on AC bi-directional charging. We’re excited to learn more about the total system cost for the R5 and the Powerbox and how it compares to DC bi-directional systems from other automakers.

GM Energy V2H: General Motors’ Charging & Energy unit is called “GM Energy”. They just launched their Ultium Home Charging offering which will consist of 3 different bundles:

Ultium Home V2H Bundle

• GM PowerShift Charger
• Up to 19.2 kW charge speeds (AC)
• Enables vehicle-to-home (V2H) bi-directional charging with a compatible GM EV and V2H Enablement Kit (see below)
• V2H Enablement Kit
• Inverter, home hub, and dark start battery
• 9.6 kW of discharge power
• Safely disconnects the home from the grid

Ultium Home Energy System

• GM PowerShift Charger (see details above)
• V2H Enablement Kit (details above)
• GM PowerBank
• Ultium Home’s stationary storage unit
• Connects to V2H Enablement Kit to extend backup capability and store solar or grid energy
• Available in 10.6 kWh (5 kW) and 17.7 kWh (7 kW) variants

Ultium Home Energy Storage Bundle

• GM PowerBank
• Inverter and home hub

Takeaway: While details on the whole system are still sparse, this looks very similar to Ford’s Intelligent Backup Power system.

Main difference: With the GM PowerBank the company also has a stand-alone product which customers can purchase even if they don’t have a compatible electric car yet - see Tesla’s Powerwall.

Chevy Silverado EV w/ V2L, V2V and V2H: While the GM Energy offering followed mostly a “me too”-theme (compare Ford/Tesla..), the launch of the Chevrolet Silverado EV is promising to bring us a few more innovative features:

• V2L (vehicle-to-load) charging from the truck bed: up to 7.2kW with 15A and 30A outlets.
• V2L from the truck’s charge port with a V2L power adapter: up to 3kW addtl.
• V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle charging) from the truck’s charge port to another vehicle at up to 6kW.
• And lastly V2H (vehicle-to-home / emergency backup power) at greater than 6kW (to be announced) via the Ultium Home V2H bundle.

Takeaway: The Silverado EV is supposed to be an absolute feature-packed bi-directional EV workhorse.