Wallbox Charging is collaborating with Kia to launch a vehicle capable of supplying home grid electricity through bi-directional charging.
The new EV9 electric car has the ability to send electric power back to a home and vice versa, creating a circular exchange of electricity.
When a vehicle like the Kia EV9 has bi-directional charging, it can effectively function as a mobile battery. In situations where the car is fully charged, it can provide power back to the grid at times of high demand or even supply electricity to a home during a power outage.
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Power Source
At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Kia introduced its vehicle-to-home (V2H) feature through a display called “Kia Connected Home“, which illustrated how easy it is to use two-way charging.
Jeff Jablansky, a Kia representative, explained that a two-way charger must first be installed at home and then the vehicle must be connected to it.
Using an intelligent management system that considers the hours of the day and the car’s energy requirements, the Wallbox Quasar 2 charger has the ability to both supply the EV9 with power and transfer it from the car to the home.
In mid-2023, Wallbox and Kia signed a commercial agreement with automaker Kia America to bring bi-directional charging to customers of the new Kia EV9.
The companies offered for this 2024 the Quasar 2, the first bi-directional charger with CCS charging standard. Thanks to this agreement, Wallbox expects it to be the first bi-directional electric vehicle charger compatible with the Kia EV9.
The equipment has a power output of 11.5 kW. It will allow drivers to both charge the vehicle and discharge it to power the home thanks to the technology known as vehicle-to-home (V2H) or send power to the grid (vehicle-to-grid or V2G).
In the case of the United States, Wallbox estimates that the use of a bidirectional charger such as the Quasar 2 can generate electricity bill savings of more than $1,000 per year.
In this way, users will be able to increase the impact of “V2H” technology by automatically scheduling charging sessions at times when energy prices are low and discharging their vehicle to power the home when prices are high.
