Ford today announced two new EV chargers that will allow its upcoming Fathom pickup truck to serve as a battery capable of supplying electricity to the home or the grid.
The new chargers promise to cost about half the price of Ford’s existing equivalent products, which could make the technology accessible to more homes. Ford said the Fathom itself would start at $28,350.
The Fathom will be capable of providing “more than 10 kW” to a home, Ford said. This would allow the electric vehicle to replace a small backup generator. For most American homes, that wouldn’t be enough to power everything, but it could keep a refrigerator and air conditioner running for about half a day.
Such capacity has been touted as an advantage of electric vehicles over fossil fuel vehicles, but few electric vehicles are properly equipped, and the chargers needed to use vehicle-to-everything (V2X) services tend to be expensive.
Both Ford devices offer similar but different capabilities.
The Home Power Station device can help customers reduce their utility bill by charging the Fathom when electricity prices are low and sending electricity back to the home when prices are high. The automaker says it will cost around $650, or about 50 percent less than its first-generation bi-directional charger.
The other option, Home Backup Power, is a package that bundles the Home Power Station with a second device, the Home Backup Panel, to allow the Fathom to also power parts or an entire house in the event of a power outage. Ford says the package will cost around $2,100, about 60 percent less than its first-generation product.
None of these prices include installation, which for existing V2X chargers can cost up to $10,000, depending on the amount of electrical work that needs to be done to prepare the home. Ford has not announced any partnerships with installers, although a spokesperson told TechCrunch that Ford will release more details at a later date.
The loads that the Fathom can power vary depending on the household and the specifics of each installation. Items like air conditioners and refrigerators, for example, typically require a large burst of power to start, after which their charge drops. So-called soft start devices can help mitigate the surge, even if they increase the cost of the installation.
Both chargers will allow Fathom customers to participate in virtual power plants (VPPs), which use software to control a fleet of distributed energy storage devices, such as electric vehicles.
As pressure on the grid increases due to AI data centers, utilities are exploring whether VPPs can help reduce congestion at borders.
Fathom owners who sign up and keep their truck plugged in can sell electricity back to the grid, often at a higher price. Ford hasn’t said how much Fathom owners can earn, but payments can reach more than $1,000 per year, depending on network needs and level of participation.
Automakers including Ford have moved into energy storage as demand for such services increases. The Fathom-powered VPP is Ford’s latest foray into the market, but it’s unlikely to be its last.
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