Photo: Rivian
Rivian has always claimed its vehicles are capable of bidirectional charging but never offered details about this feature. During the 2024 Investor Day, the EV startup announced that a new bidirectional wall charger would allow Rivian vehicles to send up to 24 kW to your home. This makes it the most powerful bidirectional charger in the market.
Bidirectional charging has become a highly sought-after feature, especially as the power grid outages happen more often. Having a big battery around to power appliances or even the entire house in an emergency offers peace of mind. Many electric vehicles offer bidirectional charging features nowadays, although the dominant EV maker, Tesla, only recently introduced them with the Cybertruck.
There are various types of bidirectional charging capabilities, with Vehicle to Load (V2L), Vehicle to Home (V2H), and Vehicle to Grid (V2H) the most popular. While V2L allows you to power appliances and tools from the car, with V2H, you can send power directly to your home. Meanwhile, V2G enables you to store electricity in the car's battery when the rates are low and sell it back to the grid at peak times, optimizing costs.
Although Rivian has always said that its vehicles can offer bidirectional charging, the company hasn't provided a compatible charger to unlock this capability. To be V2X-compatible, Rivian EVs need to have the necessary hardware, which they already had since day one. However, until now, they have lacked the software and a bidirectional charger to enable this.
In the past year, owners lost hope of getting V2X features. However, Rivian offered a welcome update during the Investor Day on June 27. Apparently, the EV startup will launch a new wall charger with bidirectional charging capabilities soon. We don't have any details about this wall charger or when it will become available. However, Rivian offered important details, making owners and fans happy.
First, the new bidirectional charger will be compatible with first-generation and Gen 2 R1T and R1S vehicles. Second, the new wall charger will be the most powerful in the market, delivering up to 24 kW in both directions. This is interesting, considering that most Level 2 chargers in the US max out at 48 amps over a 240 connection, thus peaking at 11 kW. Europeans can access up to 22 kW, thanks to using a tri-phase 400-volt connection.
One way to offer the 24-kW promised power level would be to leverage the R1 vehicle's DC charging capability. Rivian enthusiast RivianTrackr (@RivianTrackr) says that's exactly what Rivian will do. This means that the upcoming bidirectional wall charger will offer DC charging instead of AC (Level-2) charging as most competing products. This will probably make it more expensive than most, considering it needs to include a DC-DC converter capable of delivering 24 kW in both directions.
This makes the new wall charger the most powerful bidirectional charger on the market. For instance, Tesla Powershare tops at 11.5 kW, while Ford Charge Station Pro can deliver up to 19 kW. In Rivian's lineup, the R1S and R1T will remain the most capable for V2H, considering that the upcoming R2/R3 vehicle will be limited to 11 kW.
There are various types of bidirectional charging capabilities, with Vehicle to Load (V2L), Vehicle to Home (V2H), and Vehicle to Grid (V2H) the most popular. While V2L allows you to power appliances and tools from the car, with V2H, you can send power directly to your home. Meanwhile, V2G enables you to store electricity in the car's battery when the rates are low and sell it back to the grid at peak times, optimizing costs.
Although Rivian has always said that its vehicles can offer bidirectional charging, the company hasn't provided a compatible charger to unlock this capability. To be V2X-compatible, Rivian EVs need to have the necessary hardware, which they already had since day one. However, until now, they have lacked the software and a bidirectional charger to enable this.
In the past year, owners lost hope of getting V2X features. However, Rivian offered a welcome update during the Investor Day on June 27. Apparently, the EV startup will launch a new wall charger with bidirectional charging capabilities soon. We don't have any details about this wall charger or when it will become available. However, Rivian offered important details, making owners and fans happy.
First, the new bidirectional charger will be compatible with first-generation and Gen 2 R1T and R1S vehicles. Second, the new wall charger will be the most powerful in the market, delivering up to 24 kW in both directions. This is interesting, considering that most Level 2 chargers in the US max out at 48 amps over a 240 connection, thus peaking at 11 kW. Europeans can access up to 22 kW, thanks to using a tri-phase 400-volt connection.
One way to offer the 24-kW promised power level would be to leverage the R1 vehicle's DC charging capability. Rivian enthusiast RivianTrackr (@RivianTrackr) says that's exactly what Rivian will do. This means that the upcoming bidirectional wall charger will offer DC charging instead of AC (Level-2) charging as most competing products. This will probably make it more expensive than most, considering it needs to include a DC-DC converter capable of delivering 24 kW in both directions.
This makes the new wall charger the most powerful bidirectional charger on the market. For instance, Tesla Powershare tops at 11.5 kW, while Ford Charge Station Pro can deliver up to 19 kW. In Rivian's lineup, the R1S and R1T will remain the most capable for V2H, considering that the upcoming R2/R3 vehicle will be limited to 11 kW.
NEWS: Rivian R1 Bidirectional 24 kW DC Charging Coming Soon; R2 Will Feature 11 kW AC Bidirectional Charging
— RivianTrackr (@RivianTrackr) June 27, 2024
We’ve known for a while that the Rivian R1 line is capable of bidirectional charging (which allows you to send power in both directions) but details have been slim until… pic.twitter.com/39J9Cw2glD
Google News