VW introduces bidirectional charging

Refurbish: VW logo old, slightly dented – Photo © Gerhard Hofmann for Solarify

–

The nationwide expansion of the charging infrastructure is “decisive for an accelerated ramp-up of the e-offensive. Charging has to become even easier and more suitable for everyday use, ”explains Silke Bagschik, CMO ID.-Digital and Head of Sales and Marketing for the VW E-Mobility series. “With the new software in our ID. Models and solutions such as Plug & Charge, we as a manufacturer are making a decisive contribution here.”

“Thinking beyond the car”

The Volkswagen Group is creating important prerequisites for the e-offensive. E-cars would have to be uncompromisingly “first-time car” for customers. That is why they are building a “complete charging ecosystem with charging solutions for at home and a rapid expansion of the fast charging structure for on the go, competent advice, comprehensive charging tariffs and the right fleet solutions for business customers,” says Elke Temme, Head of the Charging and Energy Business Unit at Volkswagen Group Components and CEO of Elli (elli.eco/de/volkswagen). “In addition, we have a clear target picture. We want to make the batteries of our e-cars usable as flexible, mobile storage devices in the energy market. Storage facilities are imperative in order to expand the share of renewable energies. In addition, charging can become significantly cheaper for customers, as it is possible to feed their own electricity into the public grid. “

Charging at home

In the garage at home, the ID. Charger, the wallbox from the Elli Group brand, is already conveniently charging the electrically powered models from Volkswagen. The customer can choose between the basic version and two fully networked versions, which can be controlled via the We Connect ID. App on their smartphone. In addition, the Volkswagen brand in Germany offers the right electricity contract with “Volkswagen Naturstrom”: It guarantees 100 percent certified green electricity from renewable energies.

Charging on the go – in future also via Plug & Charge

We Charge customers would already have access to one of the largest charging networks in Europe with more than 270,000 charging points with the We Charge charging card. This number is steadily increasing. By 2025, the Volkswagen Group will also – together with strong partners – install around 18,000 fast charging points in Europe. In addition, there would be around 35,000 charging points that would be created with the trading partners – “many of them open to the public”. In 2022, the VW ID. Models will have a new function that will replace today’s authentication using a charging card and thus make charging at fast charging stations even easier.

Next level “HEMS”: intelligent and bidirectional charging

The VW announcement continues: “The prerequisite for intelligent charging at home is a home energy management system (HEMS). It knows all the requirements of the consumers, so that it can intelligently stagger and manage their power supply. This makes charging with self-generated solar power even easier for owners of a photovoltaic system. In addition, with clever electricity tariffs and algorithms, it is already possible today to charge the car precisely when there is a lot of renewable energy available. For example, wind turbines do not have to be shut down because there are no customers. In 2019 alone, 6,500 gigawatt hours of renewable energy remained unused in Germany – that would have allowed 2.7 million electric cars to drive for a year. The potential is even greater in combination with bidirectional charging – a pioneering technology that is about to be launched at Volkswagen: The electric cars can feed electricity that they do not need into the customer’s home network (vehicle-to-home) and in the future also provide to stabilize the power grid. All ID. Models with the 77 kWh battery will be enabled for this technology in the future. For vehicles that have already been delivered, it will gradually also be available via over-the-air update. The power transfer and communication take place via a special DC-BiDi wallbox. “

New software for the ID. Models

“All ID. Models with a new software version from the assembly line, which offers great advantages when loading. With the 77 kWh battery, the maximum output increases from 125 to 135 kW (or 150 kW for the ID.5 GTX), which saves up to nine minutes when charged from 5 to 80 percent SOC (state of charge) Loading time. These improvements will soon be activated via software updates for customer vehicles that have already been delivered. To save the battery as much as possible, there is the new Battery Care Mode. It limits the charge level (SOC) up to 80 percent. Also the loading menu, which is now on the first level of the large touch display of the ID. Models appears, is structured in a more informative and tidy way. The online route calculation in the navigation system creates a clever multi-stop route plan for long distances, with which the car can get to its destination as quickly as possible. It includes traffic and route data as well as the desired SOC at the destination. The evaluation of the charging stops is dynamic and depends on the performance of the columns and their occupancy. As a result, the route planning can suggest two short charging processes with high power instead of a single long one with low power. “

Volkswagen wants to be carbon neutral by 2050: At the center of the “Way to ZERO” decarbonization program is the accelerated ramp-up of the e-offensive with the ACCELERATE brand strategy. As an intermediate goal, the CO₂-Emissions per vehicle in Europe will decrease by 40 percent by 2030 (basis: 2018). The production, including the supply chains, as well as the operation of e-cars are to be made climate-neutral in terms of the balance sheet. In addition, there is the consistent recycling of high-voltage batteries from old e-vehicles.

The aim is to fully electrify the new vehicle fleet. By 2030, at least 70 percent of Volkswagen sales in Europe should be pure electric cars, which corresponds to well over a million vehicles. In North America and China, the proportion of electric cars should be at least 50 percent. To this end, Volkswagen brings at least one new electric car onto the market every year.

-> Sources:

– .