(Credit: Rivian)
Rivian is developing a bi-directional EV charger, which will allow drivers to power their homes with their vehicles.
Vidya Rajagopalan, senior vice president of electrical hardware at Rivian, touched on the new product during the company's Investor Day this morning.
"We will be announcing this later, but we will be offering a bidirectional charge that you can mount on the wall of your garage where you park your car," she said. The charger will work with the R1T and R1S (first and second generation) and the R2, a $45,000 EV coming in 2026.
Rajagopalan made a point to debunk a "common misconception" that "some people think we are unable to offer vehicle-to-home capability with R1, which is untrue." The R1T and R1S already offer a "DC capability and DC output, which can be exported out of the vehicle," she says, though offering an official bidirectional charger will presumably formalize the capability as a standard Rivian feature.
The charger will provide "about 24kW" of power, which is "plenty for most homes." Rajagopalan did not mention a launch date for the charger or whether it will work with both NACS and CCS ports. Rivian declined to comment.
Kia is launching a similar product later this summer, dubbed the Quasar 2, in partnership with Wallbox. It connects to the home's electrical grid and the homeowner can direct the power flow with the circuit breaker and an accompanying mobile app.
General Motors has also built bidirectional compatibility into its newest EVs, which hook into GM's bidirectional charging systems under its Ultium Home brand. And Ford offers its Intelligent Backup Power system for the F-150 Lightning electric pickup.