Korean car maker Kia is introducing a suite of smart technologies that aim to make electric vehicle (EV) mobility more convenient and support vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services.

The suite includes automated unidirectional smart charging and vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-building technologies.

A V2G-enabled vehicle, such as the EV9, can store energy gained from renewable sources and feed it back into the power grid at times when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing. This can help stabilise the grid, support the use of sustainable energy, and potentially reduce the user’s electricity costs. On a broader level, thousands of electric vehicles connected to the grid could act as a virtual power plant, potentially providing enough energy to power towns and cities for temporary periods.

“Delivering the next generation of sustainable mobility involves the seamless and holistic interaction of electrification, connectivity and new services,” said Sjoerd Knipping, vice president for Kia in Europe. “Starting with the new EV9, Kia is working towards making EVs fully connected and future-ready to enable vehicles to be updated as new innovations and features become available.”

Kia’s technology strategy aims to create seamless and simple connectivity through integrated networks. Kia Connect promotes an always-on connection between the vehicle, Kia servers and data providers, enabling the live streaming of data to deliver real-time updates and information to drivers, via the Connected Car Cloud. Kia also uses live data to improve the customer experience by making it easier to find available charging stations and predicting vehicle maintenance.

Additionally, live data can help make roads safer for everyone, enable efficient management of fleets, and improve emergency response times.

The company’s connectivity strategy extends to the dedicated Kia Connect app that allows drivers to take advantage of features available in the new Kia Connect Store. This store is the go-to place to purchase upgrades for cars, enabling a vehicle to be continuously updated with specific technologies.

The EV9 will be the first car that will benefit from the Kia Connect Store, which is also the first Kia vehicle to have the CCNC connected car navigation cockpit, with dual-band GPS for improved location accuracy. Over-the-air updates enable the system to undergo constant improvement, with the latest maps, interfaces and software enhancements.

On top, the EV9 will also have the EV route planner feature, which suggests the best charging points based on the vehicle battery level while travelling to a destination.

The Kia Charge app shows a comprehensive charging network from a single point of access. The network in Europe includes more than half a million charging points in 28 countries, and it continues to grow thanks to pan-European partnerships with Ionity and Digital Charging Solutions (DCS) as well as local charging providers.

For public fast-chargers, Kia is expanding regional joint ventures to establish 30,000 new chargers by 2030. The company is also setting up co-branded fast chargers at dealerships for a more personalised and comfortable charging experience.

Kia Smart Charginggives users greater flexibility for charging electric vehicles. Advances in vehicle connectivity are taking EV charging and power usage into the sustainable era through bidirectional charging. This enables energy to flow both ways, into and out of the vehicle. Therefore, the EV9 is capable of V1G automated unidirectional smart charging, vehicle-to-load (V2L), vehicle-to-building or home (V2B and V2H), and vehicle-to-grid (V2G).

V2L, first introduced with the EV6 and available as standard with the EV9, lets users power 110 and 220V appliances using their EV9 battery by plugging the cable into the EV charging port. V2B and V2H refer to the vehicle’s ability to power a building or the user’s home. A fully charged EV9 with a 99.8kWh battery could power a household for five to ten days. V2G means the vehicle can transfer energy directly to the grid for wider use.