Solarwatt links BMW iX3 to HEMS

Solarwatt and BMW are moving from EV charging into home energy control, with the first Neue Klasse vehicles set to connect to Solarwatt’s home energy management system for vehicle-to-home use. BMW said in a May 18 release that the market launch for integrating bidirectional-capable BMW vehicles into Solarwatt’s new HEMS is planned for late 2026 in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Bimmer Today reported on May 21 that the BMW iX3 and the i3 sedan are among the models to be linked into that system. The arrangement would let the car battery work with rooftop solar, home storage and household loads rather than serving only as a charging endpoint. ### Which BMW models are being tied into the system first? Bimmer Today said on May 21 that the BMW iX3 and the i3 sedan will be integrated into Solarwatt’s HEMS, and described the iX3 as the first Neue Klasse vehicle in that setup. The report said the system is intended to make Neue Klasse BMWs part of a home-energy ecosystem managed through Solarwatt software. (press.bmwgroup.com) BMW has separately identified the new iX3 as the first Neue Klasse model and said the vehicle uses its Gen6 electric-drive technology. In a December 2025 company post, BMW said the iX3 50 xDrive completed a 1,007.7-kilometer drive from Debrecen to Munich without recharging, and in a technical overview it said that version can reach up to 805 km on the WLTP cycle. (bimmertoday.de) ### What does Solarwatt’s HEMS actually do with the car? Solarwatt’s role is to control how energy moves between the vehicle and the home. Bimmer Today said the iX3’s battery — described there as larger than 100 kilowatt-hours — can be used to store surplus electricity generated by a private photovoltaic system and later supply other household consumers under a vehicle-to-home approach. (bmwgroup.com) Solarwatt already markets integrated residential systems that combine photovoltaics, storage, heat pumps and EV charging. Its public product pages describe the company’s offering as a connected home-energy stack, which provides the background for adding a bidirectional vehicle as another controllable asset inside the system. ### Is this available now, or only later? BMW’s own timing is later than the timing cited in the Bimmer Today report. (bimmertoday.de) BMW said on May 18 that the market launch for integrating bidirectional-capable BMW vehicles into Solarwatt’s new HEMS is planned for late 2026 in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. (solarwatt.com) Bimmer Today, in its May 21 article, said availability would begin in autumn. The difference may reflect a distinction between a first technical rollout and a broader market launch, but neither BMW nor Solarwatt explained that point in the material reviewed here. That is an inference based on the two timelines. (press.bmwgroup.com) ### Why is the iX3 central to this rollout? BMW has positioned the iX3 as the opening product for the Neue Klasse generation. The company said the vehicle is built at its Debrecen plant in Hungary and uses the new Gen6 architecture, while Bimmer Today linked that model directly to Solarwatt’s home-energy integration plan. The BMW release also said the two companies have worked together in electric mobility since 2013. (press.bmwgroup.com) That gives the HEMS announcement a longer partnership backdrop, even though the vehicle-to-home application is tied to the newer bidirectional-capable Neue Klasse models. (bmwgroup.com) ### What should readers watch next? Late 2026 is the concrete next milestone in the companies’ own timetable. BMW said the first launch markets are Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, and Bimmer Today named the iX3 and i3 sedan as the initial models to watch as Solarwatt expands the HEMS link to Neue Klasse vehicles. (press.bmwgroup.com)