The next Renault 5, expected in 2023, will not only be a transport vehicle. It can also act as a buffer battery to supply the electricity network, or even allow its users to connect a coffee machine or a barbecue. Apart from the entry-level versions, the R5s will be fitted as standard with a bidirectional charger, capable of storing electric current but also of delivering it. After conducting experiments in Spain and the Netherlands, the manufacturer will generalize this equipment.
This battery, with a capacity of approximately 52 kilowatt hours (kWh) for a range that should be a little less than 400 km, can be programmed to charge during off-peak hours, when electricity is cheap, and restore energy during peak hours, when the kWh is charged more expensively.
The owner, who will be able to determine the minimum charge level of his car at the start of the morning, will therefore be paid. By counting on an average immobilization of nine hours per day, the manufacturer ensures that this could make it possible to divide by half the electricity consumption at home of his car.
Research Team
R5 buyers interested in a charger say “V2G”, For “vehicle-to-grid” (“from the car to the network”), will have to be equipped with a bidirectional terminal, which does not require an additional price, specifies Renault. For their homes, they will also need to take out a subscription to the German operator The Mobility House, which offers a power supply “carbon neutral” and at a price “overall more attractive than the regulated tariff”.
Thanks to its battery, the car can also supply (with a power of 3.7 kilowatts) by its own means equipment such as an electric bicycle or an electric barbecue thanks to an adapter connected to the car’s charging socket.
The electric R5, whose price has not yet been announced (the entry level could be displayed at just under 25,000 euros, bonus deducted), will be the first model equipped with a two-way charger. The other electric vehicles in the range, such as the future Scénic, but also the current Mégane E-Tech, will also be equipped with it.
This innovation on the electric R5, Eric Feunteun is particularly proud of. It is one of the results of the team he leads, Software République. This brings together engineers from Renault, from which he comes, but also from Thales, Orange, Atos, Dassault Systèmes or STMicroelectronics, the French flagships of tech, and is intended to be emblematic of the De Meo method.
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