This is one of the most overlooked advantages of electric cars: their ability to become a source of energy for your home, or even your neighborhood. This is called bidirectional charging, and the Renault 5 will be the first model to be equipped with it in France. Good news: the Renault terminal compatible with this function has just been put into production.
What if your electric car could provide electricity to your home? The idea may seem preposterous, but this technology (bidirectional charging) is already a reality for a few models, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning sold in the USA and Canada.
The highly anticipated Renault 5 E-Tech, which will be unveiled at the end of February 2024, will be the first model to benefit from it in France. Renault has just announced its compatible charging station, on the occasion of the start of its production in the Lacroix factory in Maine-et-Loire.
One terminal, four versions
This is where the Mobilize PowerBox comes into play. This is the name of this wallbox, co-developed with Renault and several French players, such as Orange for connectivity, STMicroelectronics for semiconductors or Thalès for cybersecurity – these companies being part of the “Software Republic”.
A wallbox available in four versions, each intended for a very specific use. Each of them delivers alternating current, which can reach up to 22 kW (enough to gain around 100 to 150 km of autonomy per hour of charging), while being able to benefit from remote updates (OTA) via Wi -Fi. In detail:
- The “UNO” version is dedicated to individuals;
- The “UNO PLUS” version adds an RFID card reader, perfect for installations in businesses or condominiums;
- The “UNO PRO” version comes with the famous RFID reader, but also a specific counter, called MID (Measurement Instruments Directive), allowing the rebilling of electricity. These terminals will be installed in places accessible to the public and/or at employees’ homes;
- Finally, the “VERSO” version is the one that interests us today, since it is it which integrates bidirectional charging.
Bidirectional charging, how does it work?
Concretely, this version compatible terminal can, depending on the need, send electricity from the network to your car’s battery or, conversely, from the car to your house or the neighborhood. For this, it is connected by 4G and can be controlled remotely.
The car owner will only have to set a target charge level to reach at a set time, and the terminal will manage the charging/discharging of the battery itself.
A solution which offers several advantages: for the network, this will make it possible to limit periods of maximum voltage (in the early evening in winter, for example), since electric cars will be able to inject electricity into it. Enough to limit power outages.
For car owners, this is the promise of great savings. On the one hand because you will charge almost all the time during off-peak hours (if you have the appropriate subscription), but also because you will be able to re-charge the electricity from your battery to the network.
If the “one-way” terminals arrive very soon in the Renault network, where they will be offered to each customer, this “two-way charging” version will arrive in the fall, when the Renault 5 goes on sale. Prices have not yet been revealed.