California-based Phoenix Motorcars has entered into a partnership with Fermata Energy to integrate Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) functionality across its entire lineup of medium-duty EVs. This initiative spans all generations of Phoenix Motorcars' electric school buses, shuttle buses, and trucks, dating back to the initial deliveries in 2014 up to the current models.
Denton Peng, CEO of Phoenix Motorcars, expressed the company's commitment to maximizing the benefits of electrification for fleets, stating, “At Phoenix, our goal is to enable fleets to derive the most benefit from their electrification efforts. The partnership with Fermata Energy brings V2G capabilities to our vehicles and is a critical piece in achieving this goal. We are also very proud to enable this feature for all of our past production vehicles, a first in the industry.”
One notable aspect of this collaboration is that even older Phoenix Motorcars vehicles can be equipped with V2G capabilities through a simple software update, making it a cost-effective and sustainable solution for existing fleet owners.
Fermata Energy's V2G solution, known as the FE-20 bidirectional chargers, employs the CHAdeMO connection to facilitate both charging and discharging of EV batteries at a rate of 20 kW. Additionally, the next-generation Phoenix Motorcars vehicles will feature an upgraded 60 kW V2G capability using the CCS charging protocol.
In addition to their technical collaboration, Phoenix Motorcars and Fermata Energy have inked a commercial partnership agreement with the aim of streamlining the deployment of V2G-capable vehicles, chargers, and managed V2G services.
Furthermore, Phoenix Motorcars has introduced its Gen 4 retrofit electrification solution tailored for medium-duty vehicles. This innovative system is designed to electrify a range of internal combustion engine vehicles, encompassing shuttle buses, school buses, paratransit buses, box trucks, cargo vans, and various work trucks. The Gen 4 e-drive system is adaptable, offering multiple battery options that provide an impressive range of 115 to 150 miles on a single charge. It also supports fast-charging, with capacities of up to 100 kW via the CCS charging standard.