In case you occur to personal a Lucid Air, you’ll quickly be capable of cost different EVs along with your automobile’s saved battery energy. That is all due to the introduction of Lucid’s new vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) function with a catchy title: “RangeXchange.”
After receiving the newest over-the-air replace, all current Lucid autos will be capable of use the automobile’s bi-directional onboard charger and the brand new RangeXchange adapter to cost different autos – even these constructed by different automakers – at speeds of as much as 9.6 kW. This implies transferring energy able to driving different EVs between 24 and 40 miles in nearly an hour.
RangeXchange works virtually like a digital jerrycan, besides as an alternative of carrying a container of gasoline in your trunk, you merely carry a protracted cable that may switch electrons between autos, agnostic of the model. Each vehicles negotiate a charging velocity with each other and is then served up juice from the Lucid’s high-voltage battery.
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That is the primary use of the bi-directional charging capabilities baked into the all-electric Lucid Air sedan. The magic behind the charging is Lucid’s so-called Wunderbox, which handles all the electrical energy that enters – and now leaves – the automobile.
“Designed and engineered in-house by Lucid, the Wunderbox is way over only a piece of {hardware} that fees the battery pack,” stated Lucid’s Senior Vice President of Product and Chief Engineer, Eric Bach. “From giving different EVs a lift with RangeXchange at present, to attainable future functions like vehicle-to-home backup energy, time-of-use (TOU) optimization, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) energy, Lucid’s proprietary bi-directional charging expertise has the potential to enormously enhance our prospects’ lives.”
To be clear, whereas the Wunderbox and the RangeXchange adapter are each {hardware}, Lucid’s latest function is made attainable by activating the function with an over-the-air replace, although it should require homeowners to hold round a RangeXchange adapter in the event that they wish to share their cost with one other automobile proprietor. However, hey, within the slim probability {that a} Lucid proprietor with a RangeXchange cable and inadequate cost occurs to flag down one other Lucid with a surplus of cost, a minimum of they’ll have the choice to siphon some juice to get to the following DC quick charger and proceed about their day.
Realistically, it appears that evidently most EV homeowners probably gained’t make use of this function with how strong most charging networks are these days, although it definitely feels comforting to know that the choice exists (even when Lucid solely delivered 4,300 vehicles this yr). It does have us questioning what different V2X capabilities the corporate plans on providing sooner or later with its vehicles. Maybe V2H charging like Ultium-equipped GM autos?
Lucid says that the RangeXchange function will likely be pushed to vehicles in an upcoming OTA software program launch. Likewise, the adapter itself will likely be provided on the market later this month, although the price of the adapter at the moment stays a thriller.