⚡ Bringing juice to the office - with AC V2X

Happy Tuesday. This is Electric Avenue, the original Star Wars trilogy of EV newsletters. Each episode is better than the last 😎.

Here's what we have for you today:

• 1 Video - Tesla trip planner 🖼️

• Bidirectional charging - AC V2V PoC💭

• 3 Links 🔗

• Meme of the week 🤡

Let's get into it!

One Video 🖼️

Feature Radar: Tesla just released a trip planner for its mobile app! This feature automatically adds the best charging stops to a planned route. Tesla’s trip planning functionality has been around for years, but only as a part of the in-car navigation system. Now you can plan your Tesla routes on the go - including simulating different battery levels at the trip start --> Check out the video below for a screen recording of the feature in use for a cross-Germany trip.

You see, one way to tackle the problem of range anxiety is by increasing battery capacity or charging rates. That's expensive.

Another way is to increase range confidence through accurate range prediction and trip planning, combined with reliable charging infrastructure. And that's where Tesla's trip planner + in-house Supercharger Network comes in - it's a powerful combination 🤝!

AC V2V - Bidirectional Proof of Charging (PoC)

Have you ever taken something from the office without permission?

Don't worry - we've all done it.

You might have taken a pen, a roll of toilet paper, or some stationery from the office at some point. Maybe you even charged your phone or laptop using the office electricity.

But what if you could do the opposite and bring electricity to the office instead?

And what if you could get paid for doing that?

Sounds crazy, right? Well, not anymore. Thanks to a new technology called bi-directional charging or V2X, this could soon become a reality.

We've covered various value propositions and use cases of V2X in the past:

• V2H - Emergency backup power for your home during a power outage.

• V2G - Getting paid by your utility to discharge energy at the right times to support the grid.

But now, German startup ChargeX is pitching us the benefits of V2V - Vehicle to Vehicle charging at the workplace. ChargeX is commonly known for its "Aqueduct" AC charging system which allows power sharing across multiple charge points as well as easy plug&play installation and expansion.

ChargeX is using the unique electrical architecture of its charging system for this V2V pilot project. The scenario is quite simple:

• Two employees of ChargeX commute to the office over 5 days. One employee ONLY charges at the office with a Tesla Model Y. The other employee charges a KIA EV6 at home every night, which can then share its battery with the Tesla at the office.

• To "hack" this bi-directional functionality with a Production-spec KIA EV6, ChargeX is tricking the vehicle into discharging via its AC Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality. This is meant to be used only in combination with KIA's V2L adapter accessory, but the vehicle cannot tell this accessory apart from the "Aqueduct Discharging Module" used by ChargeX.

• Because of this "hack," the discharging power is limited to 3.7kW and only single-phase, whereas the "normal" charging rate of the EV6 is up to 11kW 3-phase.

So what happened during the week?

• The KIA EV6 was charged at home overnight and left in the morning with 100% SoC. It had a ~90km commute one-way and arrived at the office with ~78% SoC. Since it needed another ~22% SoC to get home in the evening it made ~50% SoC (~40kWh) available to discharge for the Tesla during the workday. During the whole week the EV6 recharged 353 kWh, 153kWh of which were discharged and the rest consumed by driving.

• The Tesla Model Y started Monday morning with 80% SoC and ended the week with 30% SoC. It had a 60km commute one-way which required ~15% SoC. The only energy it received during the week were the ~153 kWh discharged by the EV6.

What were the take-aways?

• Power quality: The grid-forming voltage range and frequency generated by the EV6 was sufficient for the Tesla - no complaints 🙂

• Efficiency: The EV6 charging at 11kW 3-phase had ~94% efficiency. But, when discharging at the office the EV6 was limited to 1-phase which is very inefficient. This led to a final well (EV6 home grid) to wheel (Tesla Model Y battery) efficiency of only ~76%. If the KIA EV6 would have been able to discharge at the higher 3-phase efficiency of ~94%, the simulated well-to-wheel efficiency would have been ~86% according to ChargeX.

• Feasibility: AC discharging for power sharing at the office is technically possible today.

Other considerations:

• Acceptance and use of the functionality will depend on the ease of use, efficiency as well as the financial incentives.

• If the employer reimburses employees for the energy charged at home anyways (e.g. in the case of a company-owned car), the employer also “owns” the energy inside the car and can mandate the sharing of it at the workplace.

• Higher discharging power (e.g. 11kW instead of 3.7kW) would enable more flexibility to match energy donors with energy consumers.

You can read the company's official press release (in 🇩🇪 ) here. ChargeX also produced a video:

3 Links 🔗

• IKEA x MER UK electrify last mile delivery fleet 🚚: Remember two weeks back when we discussed "The Evolution of Retailer charging 🛒"? We talked about a three-phase game plan, going from completely outsourcing to gradually insourcing skills & tech when it comes to EV charging infrastructure. Now, IKEA UK has come forward with an announcement: they're getting themselves an electric fleet for last-mile delivery AND teaming up with MER UK to install charge points at their stores. But there is one shortcoming - even though they're installing a total of 196 AC & DC charge points, they won't be accessible to shopping customers. What a shame, huh?

• 400 kW, baby 🔌: European drivers of electric vehicles have taken a liking to the 300kW Hypercharger by Alpitronic over the past years, as it has proven to be extremely reliable. Just last week, Alpintronic unveiled their latest model, which can provide up to 400kW split dynamically between two power outputs. It's worth noting that this product is likely the result of various public funding requirements. For instance, while the United States' NEVI program requires a minimum of 150 kW power output per charge point, Germany's Deutschlandnetz requires at least 200kW per charge point.

• Popular MSP for sale 💔: Elvah, a German startup providing public charging services for electric vehicles in Europe (aka MSP), has filed for bankruptcy protection. According to the CEO (in an interview in 🇩🇪), the company failed to secure additional funding needed. Elvah had a unique approach, offering an app-only charging service (no RFID cards), harmonized tariffs across multiple charging networks, and offered a real-time score on charging station reliability.

Meme of the Week 🤡

That's a wrap for this week! Let us know how you feel:

Reader Review of the Week

Selected ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ Freakin´ awesome on ⚡ iPhone on wheels vs. Android tablet in your car - and what's Tesla doing? and wrote:

"Android Automotive and Apple CarPlay will kill the OEM Head Units for non Luxury Cars in the future. Premium OEMs will need to continue to develop those (expensive) Driver User Journeys to differentiate from the mass market. Will be a interesting battle of the User Journey and UI/UX in future."

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. The Electric Avenue team may hold investments in the companies discussed.