Here’s yet another twist in the approaching electric vehicle revolution. Ford has announced that its 2022 F-150 Lightning (electric F-150) will feature the ability to charge other electric vehicles with a standard SAE J1772 charge port.
This is thanks to the Lightning’s powerful onboard generator and large battery system. The 7.2-kilowatt generator equipped Ford F-150 PowerBoost hybrid will also be able to charge electric vehicles. It’s no great leap to predict the 7.2-generator and EV charging capability will appear in future Ford SuperDuty models.
In theory, this vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) charge feature is a bit like siphoning gas or diesel from one vehicle to another, only with electrons instead of liquid fuel, and a single cable instead of a siphon and tank transfer.
I would expect there will be a considerable amount of “line-loss” in this process as the power is drawn from one vehicle battery into another. Put another way, I don’t think this is something you would do unless you needed to. Ford suggests situations ranging from charging a dead EV battery during a power outage or topping off a family member or friend’s EV vehicle.
For those of us who have range anxiety before we even step foot in an electric car or truck, this opens up a new paradigm. Imagine a world where nearly every vehicle could be a potential EV charge point. If that’s too far, imagine every police car, highway safety vehicle, and tow truck could be an emergency charge port. With this V2V concept, it could make sense.
Click here to read more about this EV charging capability.
