The product will be the first of its kind available in North America and is predicted to hit the market in 2023 at less than $1,500. The collaboration brings together the specialties of both companies, with BREK developing the power electronics core and hardware, and Emporia developing the connector strategy and smart home integration system.
Emporia already offers a line of energy management technology products that can be combined to create the Emporia Smart Home Energy Management System. These products include level 2 EV chargers, customisable whole-home batteries with capacity from 8.2kWh to 49.2 kWh, smart plugs, and real-time energy monitors that allow users to assess and control their total home energy usage in real-time via the Emporia app. The partnership’s bi-directional EV Charger will be the newest addition to this ecosystem and give customers new options for power management. Consumers will now be able to power their home through their EV, insulating them from costly utility bills and protecting them from power outages.
BREK’s Silicon-Carbide based platform has a variety of applications, including solar string inverters that can provide significantly higher power at lower cost with longer life, in a compact design. BREK’s and Emporia’s collaboration will develop and adapt this hardware specifically for bi-directional EV charging.
“80 to 85% of electric vehicle charging currently takes place at the vehicle owner’s home, so the EV should really be seen as an extension of the home energy system” said Emporia CEO Shawn McLaughlin. “This is critical to why we want to make a bi-directional EV charger readily available – being able to transfer energy from the vehicle back into the home or grid will enable widespread adoption of distributed renewable energy without taxing the grid, while generating substantial savings for the homeowner, but there isn’t a cost effective option on the market yet. Our collaboration with BREK will create that option.”
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