Kia sees electric car battery as important home energy source

Transition of a car manufacturer

Like many other automakers, Kia is transforming itself from a conventional automaker to a provider of sustainable mobility solutions. At Kia, though, that transition is gaining momentum. The brand is fully committed to BEVs and to technology that also makes life with a BEV a lot easier. Kia Charge marks the next concrete step in the realization of the brand’s grand ambitions.

Kia Charge

With Kia Charge, Kia, in cooperation with partners, offers multiple public or home charging services. By entering into strategic cooperation with Vattenfall and other new partners, Kia will not only be able to provide EV drivers with even more comfort, but the brand also wants to make an important contribution to solving the challenges of energy transition with its large fleet of electric models. By partnering with the energy sector, the electric car can be integrated into the user’s ecosystem.

Integrating EVs into ecosystem

Léan Verstoep, President & CEO of Kia Netherlands, says: “Our ambition to become a leader in sustainable mobility solutions, together with the major challenges that the energy transition brings to everyone, is the reason for the introduction of Kia Charge. By integrating our electric cars into the user’s ecosystem, we are not only making electric driving even more accessible, but in time we will actively contribute to a truly sustainable future using cleaner energy sources and without grid congestion.”

More Kia BEVs on the way

An essential part of Kia’s strategy is to offer a wide variety of electric models and their sustainable production and recycling. Kia has made significant progress in this area and is now among the largest providers of electric cars on the market. Some 30,000 electric Kia models are currently on the road in the Netherlands alone, including the Niro EV and the EV6 and EV9 based on the E-GMP platform. More models will follow in the near future, including an EV5 and EV3.

Kia aims to sell 1.6 million all-electric cars worldwide by 2030, becoming one of the world’s leading EV manufacturers. The brand plans to start producing small and medium-sized electric cars at the Slovakia plant starting in 2025, which will be of great importance in driving electric cars further in Europe.

EV as solution to grid congestion, not cause

Kia is now taking a step further with the introduction of Kia Charge, with the aim of making electric driving even easier and making the most of the EV to contribute to a stable and efficient energy grid. In this regard, Kia sees the electric car not as a cause, but rather as a solution to the major challenges associated with the breakthrough of electric driving. 

Kia Netherlands, together with the brand’s R&D center in South Korea, is working hard on the large-scale introduction of technology that will allow the electric car to function optimally as a part of the energy network. The Kia EV9 with bi-directional charging technology, enabling V2G and V2H, was recently launched in the Netherlands. The production versions of the EV3 Concept, EV4 Concept and the EV5 will also get that technology.

Auke Hoekstra, a researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology, says: “If we start driving electric vehicles on a large scale soon, this could lead to even more grid congestion because electric cars, for example, would increase the demand for power considerably at the end of the day. But if we start charging smartly or even feed energy back with V2G technology, electric cars can actually make that peak smaller. If all cars were electric and one in five were equipped with V2G technology, we could eventually avoid grid congestion. Electric cars with V2G technology are also crucial to improving the business case for solar and wind due to their large storage capacity and flexibility. The Kia EV9 with its built-in bi-directional charger and V2G proposition is truly the gamechanger I have been waiting for for years. I truly believe that what is now being kicked off by Kia together with partners is globally significant.”

Signature

On Dec. 12, 2023, Cindy Kroon, CCO of Vattenfall Netherlands, and Léan Verstoep President & CEO of Kia Netherlands put their signatures to the promising partnership.

Cindy Kroon, said: “We want to help households to live fossil-free. Not only by supplying sustainable energy, but also through smart solutions that enable customers to generate and use their own sustainable energy. Electric driving plays an increasingly important role in this. Thanks to the partnership, Kia customers can take advantage of our product and service offerings and help them reduce their carbon footprint.”

Energy contracts with 100% green power

The subsequent cooperation with partners allows Kia Charge to significantly expand its range of products and services. For example, through energy supplier Vattenfall, Kia now offers energy contracts with 100% green electricity from the Netherlands. The energy contract can be extended to include, for example, the installation of solar panels, allowing users to generate their own energy and save on energy costs through smart charging. 

From Jan. 1, 2024, software company Road will also join Kia Charge in managing both public and private charging stations. Road’s industry-leading charging station management platform is also an integral part with the bi-directional charger to provide smart charging service.

Installation services of charging stations

Much of Kia Charge’s infrastructure is already operational in the form of supply and installation of charge points, hosting services and apps that are used daily and widely by Kia drivers. The new Kia Smart Charge app was developed with partner Jedlix. The app supports users to charge intelligently, allowing them, among other things, to benefit from cheaper charging during off-peak hours, thanks to dynamic pricing. The app is actually the link between the car and the energy supplier and aims to prevent grid congestion and make more efficient use of cleaner energy. 

Investment is necessary

Kia differentiates itself with Kia Charge by focusing particularly on private charging infrastructure in and around the home. However, Kia is also investing significantly in initiatives such as IONITY to further expand its public charging network. “I am confident that we will achieve our ambitions. That said, we are also dependent on the government and partners to achieve this. We will therefore actively engage in discussions to ensure that the rollout of this initiative will be a great joint success. With Kia Charge we are really taking a big step towards becoming an all-round provider of sustainable mobility solutions,” concludes Léan Verstoep.