Geely-owned Polestar says it has taken the first step in enabling bi-directional charging to customers, ultimately making it possible to use the car as a powerbank and monetise it when parked while supporting the electric grid.

Together with home energy company dcbel, Polestar is launching a vehicle-to-home (V2H), blackout protection support and smart charging solution for Polestar 3 customers in the US, starting with California.

Bi-directional charging technology allows electric cars to both charge and discharge energy from their batteries, with the capability to send energy to the user’s home or back to the electricity grid. As a result, the car can help reduce energy costs, act as a backup source for your home, support the local grid, and increase the use of renewable energy.

Michael Lohscheller, Polestar CEO, said: “Bi-directional charging is a gamechanger, not only for the car industry, but the home energy ecosystem. As it lowers your total cost of ownership and makes your car work for you even when parked, this makes the choice of driving a Polestar even more attractive.”

This initial bi-directional charging solution uses direct current (DC) and enables V2H functionality for Polestar 3 customers on the 400 Volt electrical architecture.

The commercial offer is aimed at residents in California who can take advantage of local state incentives and includes the dcbel home energy system, Ara, and allows customers to reduce charging costs by up to 1,300 USD per year and use their car as an energy backup during blackouts for up to ten days, says Polestar.

Olivier Loedel, Head of Software product management at Polestar, said: “We are very excited to deliver this initial bi-directional charging offer together with our North American partner dcbel. It’s a new technology that requires a sophisticated and intelligent ecosystem, and this marks an important first step as we aim to launch bi-directional charging features to more Polestar customer in more markets.”

Polestar says it plans to introduce a wider offer in the future. In Germany, with more European markets to follow, Polestar has launched a ‘bi-directional-ready’ AC home charger together with partner Zaptec; the Zaptec Go2. Compatible with Polestar 3, this charger enables bi-directional charging ‘when the feature becomes available for the car in the future’.