Ford and Siemens present wall box for Ford F-150 Lightning truck
Siemens Smart Infrastructure has collaborated with Ford on the ‘Ford Charge Station Pro’ made for the Ford F-150 Lightning e-pickup. It is the first bidirectional-ready charging solution for electric vehicles to be released at the end-user level, according to Siemens.
More specifically, the Ford Charge Station Pro is the first product certified to the recently expanded Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 9741 standard, Siemens states. With a peak power rating of 19.2 kW, the new charging station offers the highest rated power currently available for a Level 2 charging unit in the US, the company added.
When Ford introduced the F-150 Lightning in May 2021, it actively advertised from the outset that the vehicle could also deliver electricity. At the time, the company said the EV could draw power from either the charging port in front of the driver’s door or outlets in the interior, cargo area or frunk. In the basic version, 2.4 kW of extraction power is possible ex-works, and even 9.6 kW in the Larait and Platinum trim levels.
While the focus has been on powering individual devices such as tools or consumer electronics, the Ford Charge Station Pro allows the F-150 Lightning to become an interactive part of the household and a source of power in the event of a power outage. Siemens says firmware updates are also possible to provide additional features.
“Together with Ford, Siemens is not only helping accelerate electric vehicle adoption in the residential space but is also empowering drivers to take more ownership of their energy future,” said John DeBoer, head of Siemens eMobility in North America. “The technology behind this charger is helping make charging at home more sustainable, more reliable, and more accessible. We’re incredibly proud to put our experience to work to help usher in a new era for electric vehicles and grid resiliency.”
According to Ford, the 80-amp charging station can be installed “virtually anywhere,” thanks to its rugged, weather-resistant housing. The charging station features a permanently attached charging cable that is 80 feet long, the equivalent of more than nine meters. The F-150 Lighning’s battery can be charged from 15 to 100 per cent in eight hours using the wall box, which averages out to a range of 30 miles per hour. The charging processes can be monitored and controlled via the familiar FordPass app.
0 Comments