Automated charging is coming to your home
Easelink’s automated charging system comprises a connector plate mounted on the vehicle underbody and a stationary charging pad fixed in the parking space. Once the vehicle parks, the charging plate lowers onto the pad, forming a conductive charging connection. The setup is similar to a wireless solution but incurs significantly lower losses during energy transfer.
Easelink’s Matrix Charging will now be integrated into Keba’s offers of classic wall boxes for new customers or as a retrofit for existing clients. Adding the charging pad and plates does not affect the functionality of regular charging via cable.
However, the partners see automated charging not only as convenient but also as an opportunity to integrate electric vehicles into the power grid in the future. This is because as soon as the car is parked above the charging pad, it automatically connects to the power grid – smart charging management can then determine whether the EV should charge or serve as a backup for the electricity network.
“The automation of the charging process and the almost continuous connection between the electric car and the home electrical system offers tremendous potential,” says Gerhard Weidinger, CTO of Keba Energy Automation. “This is especially true with regard to optimising charging to take advantage of excess PV power, assisting in grid stabilisation and enabling bidirectional charging – under the heading of vehicle to home (V2H).”
Keba and Easelink have not disclosed prices for new clients or the retrofit option, but the potential, for Easelink in particular, is huge – Keba wall boxes have been sold at least 500,000 times.
Easelink technology is already in heavy-duty use as it automatically recharges 60 electric taxis (VW ID.4) in Vienna, Austria, as reported. The company also counts energy companies EnBW and Wien Energie among its first investors.
As for the new advance into private charging, Easelink was “extremely pleased to be working together with e-mobility specialist Keba on the next generation of charging at home,” said Gregor Eckhard, COO of Easelink. “Keba’s many years of industry expertise and deep-seated competence, ranging from electronic development to manufacturing, strengthens the position of the Matrix Charging technology as a future interoperable charging standard.”
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