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New Energy Vehicles

Monday
28 Aug 2023

Wallbox and Kia America partner on bidirectional EV charging; Quasar 2 and EV9

28 Aug 2023  by greencarcongress   
Wallbox is working with Kia America to bring bidirectional charging to Kia’s EV9 customers. The companies plan to offer Wallbox’s second-generation DC bidirectional charger, Quasar 2 (earlier post), to Kia EV9 (earlier post)customers starting in the first half of 2024. Wallbox expects Quasar 2 to be the first EV charger allowing bidirectional charging with the Kia EV9.

Quasar 2 is a next-generation 11.5 kW bidirectional charger that will enable EV owners to charge and discharge their electric vehicle to power their home, vehicle-to-home (V2H) or send energy back to the grid, vehicle-to-grid (V2G). A Kia EV9 can hold between 76 and 100 kWh of energy, more than 5x the amount of energy of a standard 13.5 kWh home storage system, and power a typical household energy consumption for up to four days, removing the need for expensive home energy storage systems.

In case of a power outage, Quasar 2’s Power Recovery Mode automatically switches the user’s power source from the grid to their vehicle to allow a homeowner to use their EV battery as an emergency generator.

Last year, California alone witnessed 39 power outages and more than 414 hours of total outage time. Across the US, unforeseen power outages cost the US economy $150 billion annually.

Wallbox estimates that Quasar 2 can offer users yearly energy bill savings of more than $1,000 when combined with utility Demand Response programs and time-of-use utility rates. By taking advantage of time-of-use utility rates in the US, users can enhance the impact of V2H technology by scheduling charging sessions at times when energy prices are low and discharging their car to power their home when prices are high.

Users who have solar panel installations can also store excess solar energy in their EV during low usage periods and then harness this energy at another time, including peak periods, to reduce their reliance on the grid and accelerate the uptake of renewable energy.

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