Bidirectional charging products

There is a great deal of uncertainty about bidirectional charging. This has to do with how complicated the technology is, the number of tests that are being done all over Europe and of course incomplete information that makes it difficult to know what is already possible and what exactly you need to be able to charge bidirectionally yourself.

On this page we have collected all the products we have to enable bidirectional charging. Please note that we are talking about V2X (Vehicle to Everything) and V2H (Vehicle to Home). This does not include V2L, the technology where you can use an adapter in your EV to use power from the battery pack. If you are looking for these options, take a look at our V2L products page.

Cars that can charge bidirectionally

In order to be able to charge bidirectionally, you first need a car that is capable of this. At the time of writing, there are very few models that can do this. However, there are many electric cars that can be made suitable with (a number of) adjustments in the field of software. There are also many car brands that are busy developing possibilities and new technology. Volvo and Renault in particular are often mentioned when it comes to bidirectional charging and for good reason. These two brands are already extensively testing in the Netherlands, Sweden and Portugal and are collecting a lot of information to enable large-scale implementation in the long term.

What else do you need to enable bidirectional charging?

While most people are constantly talking about cars that need to be suitable for bidirectional charging, there are more things you need to actually be able to do this at home or at your company. In fact, a car that can charge bidirectionally is of no use if everything else is not in order. Ultimately, it is about a complete network where the car, the charging station and the meter all have to communicate with each other and current has to be able to flow in different directions to actually make bidirectional possible on a home or company network.

The network must be suitable

Although technically you don't need modern cabling to enable bidirectional charging or a brand new meter box, it is wise to take a critical look at the network. If you have older power cables or outdated contacts, there will be much more power loss than if you have a modern and good network at home or at work. You also need a smart charging station. Bidirectional charging requires the ISO15118 protocol to ensure that the car, the charging station and the network can communicate with each other and that the power can be distributed and transported correctly.

A bidirectional charging station

A standard charging station is not suitable for bidirectional charging. In fact, you need a special charging station to enable bidirectional charging. These charging stations are equipped with an inverter and are smart charging stations, which is necessary for the communication between the car, the network and the charging station itself. Without this communication, this technology simply cannot be used.

Charging stations that can charge bidirectionally are currently expensive. There are a number of reasons for this. The main reason is that there is an inverter in the charging station and this simply costs more. The other reason is that the technology is still young, which means that the costs for developing the charging stations have not yet been recouped.

Take a look at the models on this page. The range is constantly being expanded. When we get new charging stations in our range that are suitable for bidirectional charging, we will add them to this page as soon as possible.

If you are looking for a specific model or would like to know more about one of the bidirectional charging stations on this page, please contact us so that we can help you personally.

Other charging products that are useful to order directly

Would you like to use your electric car as a mobile battery, but with a plug to have power while camping for example? Then you don't need everything we mentioned in this article. In fact, a car that is suitable for V2L together with a V2L adapter is enough to be able to use this.

Do you want to be sure that you have everything in order right away? Then it is wise to immediately look at the accessories that we have in our range. For example, we have handy cable holders for you to store the charging cables in the best possible way. If the charging cables do not (remain) lying on the ground, you significantly extend the lifespan of these charging products.

Do you often have charging cables in your car because you want to be able to charge elsewhere? Then take a look at our charging cable bags. These bags are specially designed to transport charging cables. This way, the plugs do not get tangled in the back of the car and this also ensures that the charging cables last considerably longer. A small investment for a big saving.