Nigel Morris is so enamored with his electric Harley Livewire motor bike he would never dream of calling it a load. But that is exactly what it was the other day when it hooked into a Hyundai Ioniq 5, taking advantage of that electric SUV’s “vehicle to load” technology to top up its battery.
Not that it was needed at the time. It was done because it could be done, but the opportunities for V2L technologies – boasted now by the likes of the Ioniq 5 and the EV6, but surely soon by most new EV models – are immense.
David Leitch, the ITK analyst and co-host of RenewEconomy’s popular Energy Insiders podcast, had flown to Brisbane earlier in the week to snap up a second hand Ioniq 5.
He won’t reveal the price he paid for the car with just 50kms on the clock, but it’s fair to assume it was a premium, given the extraordinary prices being paid for second hand cars of all types, and the huge demand for EVs and such limited supply.
Leitch drove it back down to Sydney in one day, and was thrilled to discover that between Ballina and Sydney, about 750kms, it only required some 45 minutes of charging. “That means I did the trip about as quickly as I could in my fossil fuel car,” he noted.
(The Ballina ultra fast charging station should be able to do the job quickly too, but as Leitch found is often limited by local network constraints that dial down its capacity).
Upon hearing this news, I suggested that Morris, co-host of the equally popular Solar Insiders podcast on RenewEconomy, bring over his Harley Livewire to test out the Ioniq 5’s vehicle to load feature, which offers a standard plug to power any appliance or tool, including in your home.
Nigel Morris (right) and David Leitch discuss the marvels of V2L technology.
Leitch found the adaptor, Morris plugged in his Harley cable, the blue light started flashing and the Harley battery started to charge up.
The Harley cable only allows 1.5kW in AC charging, which means that in theory the Ioniq 5 – which can discharge at 3.6kW – could charge two Harleys at the same time. And it could do so for a while – it has a capacity of 73kWh, although it will stop discharging through V2L once it hits 20 per cent.
Or, it could charge the Tesla Model 3. But for reasons not quite explained, Leitch said no to that. It was already topped up in any case in preparation for its trip north to Byron Bay.
But it does raise a fascinating prospect. If V2L is so widespread and popular, might we see one day the NRMA and equivalent motoring organizations use them for their service operations.
What could be easier than using the V2L and plugging in a stranded EV on the highway with just enough to get it to the next charging station? They still carry cans of fuel for the fossil fuel cars that didn’t quite make it, don’t they?
Keyword: When sparks fly: Ioniq 5 charges up a Harley Livewire with V2L