PARIS: Renault's new Mobilize unit is in advanced talks with a major European retailer to provide charging boxes for electric vehicles, a Mobilize spokesman said today.
The spokesman was confirming comments made earlier by chipmaker STMicroelectronics.
Frederique Le Greves, CEO of STMicro France, had told the VivaTech conference here that this would the first contract for the Mobilize PowerBox terminal, developed by Software Republique, a tech partnership that counts Renault and STMicro among its members.
The future Renault 5 electric car will be the first in a long series of cars to come equipped with an onboard bidirectional charger that will work with the Mobilize Powerbox.
The terminal is able to communicate with the car and the cloud under a V2G (vehicle to grid) network to determine whether it should recharge the battery or send power back to the grid depending on battery charging needs, domestic needs, and incentives from the energy market and power grid.
The Mobilize Powerbox can charge at between 7 kW and 22 kW, and it would be compatible with all electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
