Automotive Engineering - February 2022 - 15

COVER STORY
Semiconductor innovations such as those in this BorgWarner
silicon-carbide inverter promise to speed advanced features such
as bi-directional charging.
With its seminal Leaf EV, Nissan was an early advocate of bi-directional charging
for a variety of V2G functions.
Unlocking EV value
The potential to use an EV's onboard battery energy presents opportunities
to help maximize the vehicle purchase, said Ryan O'Gorman,
Ford electric vehicle manager, Strategic Partnerships, in an interview
with SAE Media. " I think this is probably the most game-changing
product for our customer in the way of mobility - because it goes
beyond mobility. It's just going to be really cool to see how customers
use it; it'll be really exciting to see it market. "
Ford set an alluring benchmark for the Intelligent Backup Power
system: power the entire electrical needs of the " typical " home for
three days. Estimates vary regarding a typical home's daily usage,
but Ford press material mentioned an " average of 30 kWh per day "
- likely a conservative estimate, particularly in unusually hot or cold
weather. " You'll hear about the extreme power outages people will
bring up where they've been out for a week or two weeks or something
like that. But for the majority of power outages, three full days
is going to cover it, " O'Gorman said.
Ford will be the first mainstream automaker to offer bi-directional
charging to consumers when the F-150 Lightning will start arriving in
showrooms in mid-2022. The company is confident enough that
Intelligent Backup Power is such a compelling " bonus " feature of
ownership that it's structured an intriguing go-to-market strategy:
Every customer who opts for a Lightning with the extended-range
battery (estimated max driving range of 300 miles/483 km) will receive
the 80-amp Charge Station Pro, the Level 2 home charger required
for Intelligent Backup Power, included in the purchase. The
Lightning's lower-level chargers input into the 400V vehicle system
at 48 amps or 32 amps.
O'Gorman explained that onboard Intelligent Backup Power capability
is enabled through the inverter and associated power electronics,
which channels the battery pack's DC power through the charge
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
cord, " then it's provided to an inverter that's external
to the Charge Station Pro installed in the house. That
inverter then takes the DC power that's come from the
battery, converts it to AC and plumbs that into your
main panel, effectively, " he said. On the home side, the
wiring would include a transfer switch and a criticalloads
panel that O'Gorman said might be standard
with a backup installation. Typically, the inverter allows
9.6 kW of flow into the residence, he said.
Lightning pickup buyers who choose the standardrange
battery (230 miles/370 km max driving range)
also can install the Charge Station Pro and get
Intelligent Backup Power, O'Gorman added. The only
substantive difference, he said, is that pickups with
the standard-range battery don't have the dual onboard
chargers (19.2-kW total) fitted to extendedrange
models, meaning the maximum recharging rate
is 9.6 kW.
Because electrician labor and other costs vary widely,
O'Gorman declined to speculate regarding installation
costs. Ford has selected established nationwide
solar/electrical installer Sunrun as its installation partner
for Intelligent Backup Power, although the customer
is free to choose another installer, he added.
" We're not force-feeding the customers anything,
we're leaving it to them to take the best path. But we
are providing really good resources to make it easy.
So, it should be relatively painless, " he said.
The Charge Station Pro, like nearly all other home
chargers, uses the SAE standard J1772 combined
charging system (CCS) connector, which was presciently
designed to enable bi-directional power flow
for both AC and DC current. Londre from Qmerit,
which is the preferred installer for the bi-directional
Connected Home Charging Station offered by Lucid
February 2022 15
FROM LEFT: NISSAN; BORGWARNER
Automotive Engineering - February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive Engineering - February 2022
