Photo: BYD/Toyota/edited by autoevolution
Tesla likes to say it is an energy company instead of an automaker. After all, it sells Powerwalls for houses and Powerpacks and Megapacks for energy companies or big businesses that cannot have power interruptions. If that is really the case, Toyota and BYD will soon claim the same thing, thanks to their new products.
Toyota started pre-orders for its O-Uchi Kyuden System. It is based on an 8.7-kWh stationary storage battery that can store the energy generated by solar panels or just recharge from the grid or your electric car – which shows its main advantage is integration. Deliveries should start in August.
Considering Tesla vehicles do not offer V2L (vehicle-to-load) capability, the O-Uchi Kyuden System would not take advantage of the American EV maker’s products. It could only supply energy to them, which would only give them a few miles of range. On the other hand, the Toyota bZ4X will do the trick. The Japanese carmaker did not disclose if the 8.7-kWh uses LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cells or nickel-metal hydride, the chemistry it uses in its hybrid vehicles.
Toyota believes its system will stimulate more people to buy solar panels for their houses. It also said that the O-Uchi Kyuden System would be controlled by an app that will allow owners to select if the system should store energy or deliver it to the home. That’s an excellent way for solar panel users to use all the energy their panels can provide instead of selling it for cheap to the power grid.
Regarding BYD, the company announced it delivered its first BYD Cube T28 units in North America. To be fair, it sells it since 2019 in China. According to CNEVPost, this energy storage station made with these ESSs (energy storage systems) has already delivered 1.6 GWh overall in North America until May 30. Unfortunately, BYD did not disclose where this station is located nor how many CUBE T28 units it uses.
Each of these ESSs occupies an area of 16.66 square meters (178.7 sq-ft) and has an energy storage capacity of 2.8 MWh. BYD is particularly proud of its high-energy density and supports 1,300V DC. The company did not even have to mention it uses its Blade Batteries on the storage station: BYD said the Cube T28 is the first grid-scale energy storage system to pass UL9540A thermal runaway testing and technical evaluation in China. We cannot say the same about the Megapack, as the Victorian Big Battery fire sadly proved.
Considering Tesla vehicles do not offer V2L (vehicle-to-load) capability, the O-Uchi Kyuden System would not take advantage of the American EV maker’s products. It could only supply energy to them, which would only give them a few miles of range. On the other hand, the Toyota bZ4X will do the trick. The Japanese carmaker did not disclose if the 8.7-kWh uses LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cells or nickel-metal hydride, the chemistry it uses in its hybrid vehicles.
Toyota believes its system will stimulate more people to buy solar panels for their houses. It also said that the O-Uchi Kyuden System would be controlled by an app that will allow owners to select if the system should store energy or deliver it to the home. That’s an excellent way for solar panel users to use all the energy their panels can provide instead of selling it for cheap to the power grid.
Regarding BYD, the company announced it delivered its first BYD Cube T28 units in North America. To be fair, it sells it since 2019 in China. According to CNEVPost, this energy storage station made with these ESSs (energy storage systems) has already delivered 1.6 GWh overall in North America until May 30. Unfortunately, BYD did not disclose where this station is located nor how many CUBE T28 units it uses.
Each of these ESSs occupies an area of 16.66 square meters (178.7 sq-ft) and has an energy storage capacity of 2.8 MWh. BYD is particularly proud of its high-energy density and supports 1,300V DC. The company did not even have to mention it uses its Blade Batteries on the storage station: BYD said the Cube T28 is the first grid-scale energy storage system to pass UL9540A thermal runaway testing and technical evaluation in China. We cannot say the same about the Megapack, as the Victorian Big Battery fire sadly proved.
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