Toyota unveils home battery pack to compete with Tesla Powerwall

Toyota has unveiled a new home battery pack to provide residential backup – a product that is going to compete with Tesla Powerwall.

After Tesla launched “Tesla Energy” with the Powerwall and Powerpack in 2015, several other automakers also got into the home energy market with battery packs.

Mercedes-Benz launched its home battery pack and Renault followed soon after.

Now Toyota also announced its own home battery pack called “the O-Uchi Kyuden System”:

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) has developed batteries based on the concept of “safe, long service life, high-quality, good value for price, and high performance” so that customers can use them with peace of mind. This technology utilizing many years of electrified vehicle development as well as on-board parts and units have been used to create the O-Uchi Kyuden System, a home storage battery system. Pre-orders for the system start today, and sales in Japan will begin in August through home builders and general construction companies.

Here are a few images of the O-Uchi Kyuden home battery pack system:

Toyota says that the system has a capacity of 8.7 kWh and an output of 5.5 kW (though they made a mistake in their press release):

The O-Uchi Kyuden System uses electrified vehicle battery technology such as Toyota’s battery control to provide a rated capacity of 8.7 kWh and a rated output of 5.5 kWh. This ensures safety and provides a supply of electricity to the entire home not just in normal situations, but even during power outages caused by natural disasters.

The automaker says that its backup power system also works with a bidirectional charger to tap into an electric vehicle’s battery pack if you need more energy. Toyota is taking pre-orders for the system, but it is only available in Japan for now.

Here are the specs of Toyota’s O-Uchi Kyuden System: