What changed
Ford says its forthcoming Fathom electric pickup, expected next year at under $30,000, will include hardware that lets it send up to 10 kW of AC power to a home. Unlike earlier vehicle-to-home systems, the inverter will be built into the truck, so the setup will not require an inverter-equipped wallbox.
The Ford Home Power Station should cost about half as much as the $1,310 device used with the F-150 Lightning. The newer Home Backup Panel should cost 60 percent less than the roughly $5,000 first-generation panel, though Ford has not confirmed final prices.
Why it matters
The Fathom turns a cheap electric pickup into part of a home energy system. Its software can charge the truck when electricity is inexpensive, then use the battery when rates rise. During an outage, the truck can provide backup power through Ford’s Home Backup Panel.
That changes the cost calculation for bidirectional charging. The equipment is still an extra purchase, but Ford is moving more of the expensive conversion hardware into the vehicle and cutting the price of the supporting hardware. The result is a simpler system attached to a truck that costs less than $30,000, making home backup a built-in capability rather than a premium add-on reserved for larger EVs.
Ford says the Fathom is the first sub-$30,000 bidirectional EV with AC output. The charging module came from technology developed after Ford acquired Auto Motive Power three years ago, and it is one of five computers controlling the truck’s functions.
The bigger test will be whether utilities can make the economics work. Ford is working with utilities in the United States and Canada on vehicle-to-grid pilot programs, but their timing, availability and customer benefits remain unresolved. Ford says the system meets UL 1741, IEEE 1547 and SAE J3068 standards, which clears an important technical hurdle; it does not by itself guarantee that a local utility will support the service.
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