If you’re in the UK and looking to experience a completely off-the-grid hotel experience, Hyundai has the perfect solution for you.
The Korean carmaker is now taking bookings at its “Hotel Hyundai” which is claimed to offer guests the opportunity to experience the “world’s first car-powered hotel”.
This hotel is located in the Essex countryside and is entirely powered by Hyundai Ioniq 5s with vehicle-to-load (V2L) technology.
V2L technology, which is also available on vehicles such as the Kia EV6, Kia Niro, BYD Atto 3, and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, allow owners to use the high-voltage battery to power appliances when away from a power source.
Ioniq 5
The concept has been curated by Hyundai alongside British broadcaster and critic Grace Dent, and includes a “high-end luxury cabin”, bar, restaurant, and cinema.
This Hotel Hyundai pop-up will be open for 14 nights from October 19 to November 5.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 can power the hotel and its experiences using its V2L feature that supplies 250V AC power up to a maximum of 3.6kW power consumption.
There’s an adaptor that comes with the car that plugs into the exterior charging port and provides a socket into which standard domestic appliances can be plugged into.
Ioniq 6
Hyundai also recently introduced a second V2L port with a domestic power plug to Australian Ioniq 5 models, like the forthcoming Ioniq 6, inside the car underneath the rear seat.
It’s unclear if we will ever see this kind of off-the-grid hotel concept pop up in Australia.
In terms of other similar projects that use electric vehicle components to assist in powering infrastructure, Nissan recently announced it’s repurposing first-generation Leaf batteries to partially power the production of Leaf components at the Nissan Casting Australia Plant in Dandenong, Victoria.
The circular economy project, dubbed Nissan Node, is being completed in partnership with Melbourne-based energy storage company Relectrify.
The nine repurposed Nissan Leaf batteries aren’t expected to fully power the NCAP facilities, as it’s still connected to electricity from the grid.
At this stage the Nissan Node project is set to be completed by the end of 2022.
Another similar project is a trial with the Eastern Japan Railway Company and 4R Energy Corporation using repurposed Nissan Leaf batteries on a railway crossing in Japan.
MORE: Everything Hyundai Ioniq 5
MORE: V2L: What is it and what are the benefits?
