Renault Group and EDF plan to sell French households a single package next summer: an electric car, a home charger and software that can send battery power back to the house or the grid. It matters because the pitch is about lower bills, not gadgets, and it runs through Renault dealers rather than a separate energy shop.
The partners, which also include EDF subsidiaries IZI by EDF and Dreev, announced the deal in October 2026. Owners of Renault, Alpine and Dacia EVs would be able to feed part of their stored energy back into the grid. The partners plan to launch in summer 2027, roughly nine months after the announcement. That is a plan, not a delivered product, and we found no earlier target dates for it. A note on sourcing: all four of our sources are trade outlets reporting the same joint announcement, and we have not seen the original Renault or EDF releases ourselves.
How the package would work
Customers would buy through Renault Group's dealer network. IZI by EDF would install the home charger, and the smart charging service would manage when and how the car charges. ElectricDrives reports that Dreev, part of EDF Business Services, would supply that management layer.
The first phase covers single-family homes only. The agreement has three strands: selling and installing chargers, services that simplify and optimise charging, and services that let the car's energy run household uses or return to the grid when needed. The partners say they will refine these before launch.
What is promised and what is not yet known
The savings talk is so far a claim. Renault's Jérôme Faton framed it as an answer to purchasing power and the energy transition, and the release says owners would gain value from stored energy without affecting daily use. The release adds that results depend on the model, its consumption and how long it stays plugged in.
No price, payback figure, or list of launch models has been published in the texts we read. ElectricDrives says the scheme could extend to all bidirectional-capable Renault Group EVs, naming the Renault 5, Twingo and Dacia Spring as examples, but that is the outlet's reading, not a confirmed line-up. Also unclear: what payment, if any, owners get for sending power to the grid.
EDF has some track record in the software side. Christelle Vives, president of EDF Business Services, says Dreev's smart charging is already used by more than 100,000 customers in France and Europe. That is smart charging, though, not necessarily two-way flows.
Next to watch: the model list, the price of the bundle and the tariff for exported power. If you drive an EV in France, would a payback from your battery persuade you to let the grid use it?
Sources
- 1.Renault and EDF unveil bidirectional charging offering · electrive.com
- 2.Renault and EDF partner on French EV smart charging · Just Auto
- 3.Renault & EDF Partner for Affordable EV Charging - Fuelcellsworks · Fuel Cells Works
- 4.Renault Group and EDF partner to accelerate bidirectional charging in France · ElectricDrives
Reported by the WattsUpNext desk from the sources linked below. Spot an error? Tell us at corrections@wattsupnext.com.
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