The Nissan Leaf's Bidirectional Charging Gets A Nice Upgrade

Nissan Leaf Fermata

The Leaf can now send more power back to the grid when necessary.

• The FE-20 charger can fill up the Leaf's battery or send the car's battery energy back to the grid.
• Use of the FE-20 charger does not affect the Leaf's warranty since it's approved by Nissan.
• The Leaf has long had V2G capability, but this charger makes things even better.

It may be old and outclassed by more modern electric vehicles, but the humble Nissan Leaf has long had one edge over most of them: it's still one of the few that can send energy back to the grid or even power a building. Now, that capability is getting a nice upgrade in the form of an enhanced bidirectional charger from Fermata Energy designed specifically for use with the Leaf.

This new charger, called the Fermata Energy FE-20, brings enhancements over the older FE-15 Fermata unit. According to Nissan, these enhancements include the following:

• 33% more power
• UL 1741-SA certification
• Support of IEEE 2030.5 for Common Smart Inverter Profile (CSIP) operation per California Rule 21
• Optimized design resulting in faster, less expensive manufacturing
• Lower retail cost

The FE-20 can output 20 kW for charging and accept 20 kW while discharging a battery. Previously, the FE-15 could put out 15 kW, hence the name.

As "bidirectional" implies, the FE-20 charger can charge a Leaf's battery or send energy from the battery pack into a building or even the power grid (V2G). By sending energy to the grid, the charger can offset peak demand, which can save money for electric utility companies. Sometimes, a portion of that money can even make its way back to the Leaf owner.

We should note that the FE-20 is only for commercial applications and requires three-phase power, making it pretty much useless for almost all homeowners. Vehicle-to-home is not its intended function. Pricing isn't readily available since the unit is for commercial applications.

Still, Nissan said that energy-sharing brings down overall energy costs. "In a proof-of-concept trial of Fermata Energy’s bidirectional Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology at Nissan Americas Headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, the FE-20’s predecessor, the FE-15, helped reduce electricity bills by more than $9,450 over four years—or nearly $2,000 annually on average," the automaker said in a statement.

With the improvements made to the FE-20, the savings are expected to be even higher.

More On V2G

• Bidirectional Charging EVs: V2G, V2H, And V2L Explained
• Watch Ford F-150 Lightning's Intelligent Backup Power System Work At My Home

Back in 2013, the Leaf "became the first fully bidirectional-capable electric vehicle launched in the U.S." Earlier Model Year Leafs didn't have this functionality in the U.S. V2G is a native feature of CHAdeMO, meaning that all CHAdeMO-equipped cars could be capable of V2G functionality.

Sadly, with the upcoming demise of the Leaf, CHAdeMO ports and plugs seem likely to be made totally obsolete over time. But with any luck, V2G will have a bright future—even the Leaf has shown how effective EVs can be at mobile energy storage.