Mitsubishi trials NZ PHEV-to-home power transfer

Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand has plugged an Outlander plug-in hybrid (PHEV) to a building through its vehicle-to-house (V2H) unit, allowing electricity stored in an EV’s battery to be supplied into a building’s power network.

 The company had previously installed solar arrays on the roof of its headquarters at Todd Park in Porirua to charge its fleet of PHEVs.

By installing a Wallbox Quasar V2H module, MMNZ can now use the solar-generated charge stored in the PHEV batteries to power the electric hoists in its parts operation and other electrical appliances in the business.

The company has been keeping a close eye on the development of this cutting-edge technology has been encouraging its Japanese parent Mitsubishi Motors Corporation to fast-track V2H in its cars, says MMNZ technical services manager Lloyd Robinson.

“We have been aware that V2H modules would eventually land here and so have been able to ensure that all of our current generation Outlander and Eclipse Cross PHEVs, and our previous generation Outlander PHEVs, with Chademo DC fast charge connections are V2H ready,” he says.

While still in its infancy here, the technology has the potential to provide stored energy resilience both to New Zealand’s power grid by helping to buffer peak demand and in circumstances where properties may either lose connection to the grid or are permanently off the grid and have alternative sources of power generation (such as solar) to recharge the batteries.

Depending on the model, a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV battery has up to 20kWh total power capacity – about the daily power consumption of an average Kiwi household with two adults and two children.

“V2H is a really exciting development,” says Robinson. “And, while there are still some regulatory considerations to be worked through, I think we’ll start to see consumers looking at their cars in a whole new way.”

Currently, the V2H modules can only be connected to properties with three-phase power networks and can only be active during normal operation of the power grid. 

 “The system can’t currently be used during a power outage because there is no fool-proof way to ensure the power from the battery doesn’t flow back into the grid and place electrical workers in danger,” says Robinson. “However, those types of hurdles will be overcome as uptake of the technology grows.

 “The units themselves are also quite expensive – again, this will change as demand grows.”

 In the meantime, late model Mitsubishi PHEV owners who have properties or businesses with three-phase power and who charge their vehicles on night rates or via an alternative generation source, can now store that cheap power in their vehicle’s battery and pass it back into their premises when electricity prices are higher.

 Wallbox distributor TransNet’s e-mobility division manager Glenn Inkster says; “Mitsubishi Motors NZ is the pioneer of V2H in New Zealand.

“Its PHEVs are amongst only a handful of NZ new models that currently have V2H capability. It Is exciting times for this technology and we anticipate significant interest from PHEV owners.

“It really adds a new dimension to thinking about what EV to buy and the potential it has.”