New Makita Cordless Power Station and USB Charger

Makita BAC01 Cordless Power Station Hero

Have you wondered what a Makita cordless power station and charger will look like? Well, now we know.

Makita recently announced the BAC01 power station, and there’s definitely a lot going on here.

Makita BAC01 Cordless Power Station Being Used Outdoors

To start off, it’s advertised as delivering “powerful AC power for anywhere,” and features 2x 1400W AC outlets.

Product photos show off the power station charging 2x XGT 40V Max batteries via a dual port charger.

Makita BAC01 Cordless Power Station USB and Other Charging Ports

It has USB outlets, and plenty of them – 2x USB-A ports (2.4A), and 2x USB-C ports (30w).

Additionally, there’s a DC 12V 10A output via car-style power socket.

Note: All of these electrical specifications were announced for the Japanese model, which likely only affects the AC outlets. AC output specs might change depending on regional model differences.

Makita BAC01 Cordless Power Station Being Used at Indoors Jobsite

Makita also adds that it can power site lighting at jobsites and other such environments where AC power might not be easily available.

The BAC01 provides a pure sine wave AC output.

Makita BAC01 Cordless Power Station Charging Batteries for Outdoor Power Tools

Or, use it to recharge smaller batteries for use with cordless power tools or outdoor power tools. This is more of a usage case for the PDC1200 battery bank than the PDC01 battery holder.

Makita BAC01 Cordless Power Station Modular Systainer Tool Box Format

The BAC01 is built into a Festool Systainer-compatible Makpac tool box, making it compatible with Makita’s other Makpack tool boxes and accessories. It should be compatible with earlier generation and select current Systainer products,

Makita BAC01 Cordless Power Station Side Handles

Additionally, there are two side handles for easy transport.

Makita BAC01 Cordless Power Station User Interface

The user interface appears simple, but clear and helpful, with indicators for output wattage, USB, AC, DC, and what seems to be an audible toggle.

Makita BAC01 Cordless Power Station Battery Options

Here’s where things get tricky. There are only two ways to power the BAC01 power inverter. You can use the PDC1200, Makita’s ConnextX 1200 Wh portable backpack power supply, or their PDC01, which can be equipped with (4) Makita 18V batteries.

The PDC01 battery holder retails for $699 in the USA, and does not come with any batteries, and the PDC1200A01 retails for $1379.

That’s on top of the price of the BAC01, which is launching in Japan for 89,500 yen (~$652).

It does not look like there’s any way to power this with Makita’s XGT 40V Max cordless power tool batteries.

Runtime is application-dependent. For instance, the PDC1200 will power a 1000W load for about 56 minutes, and the PDC001 with 2x BL1860B batteries will power a 750W load for about 10 minutes.

Makita’s spec sheet mentions that, if the output is 750W or greater, the PDC01 “may stop outputting due to the battery protection function.”

None of the product photos show the inside of the tool box, and so I would assume it’s sealed shut. Makpac tool boxes use the same latches for opening and closing as for connecting to other Makpac products.

In my opinion, this all looks great, except for how the power station and inverter looks to essentially require the PDC1200 battery pack. The BAC01 cannot be used to its fill potential when powered by the PDC01 4-port 18V battery holder.

By my estimate, the BAC01 and PDC1200 would cost somewhere in the ballpark of $2000 USD, given current pricing for the PDC1200A01 in the USA, and the launch price of the BAC01 when converted from yen to USD.

All of this makes the BAC01 more of an accessory for the PDC1200 portable backpack power supply.

Maybe additional battery holders are in the works.

There’s no top handle, but maybe the power supply can be carried single-handedly with one of the side handles, at least until the PDC1200 is attached on top. Speaking of which, the PDC1200 and PDC01 connection points do look a bit clever.

I’d say the new Makita BAC01 looks very well-designed, but also completely impractical.

Milwaukee M18 Fuel Carry-on Power Station Powering Air Compressor
Milwaukee M18 Carry On Cordless Power Station

At the time of this posting, the Milwaukee M18 Carry On 1800W continuous cordless power supply is $699, and M18 12Ah batteries are $249 each. If you want a dedicated setup, you’re looking at a ~$1700 price tag. Makita’s roughly $2000 estimates pricing isn’t appreciable higher.

Plus, 4x 18V 12Ah batteries gives you 864 watt-hours, or 960 watt-hours depending on whether you use 18V or 20V Max in the calculations. Makita’s backpack is built with 1200 watt-hours energy capacity.

Bosch Mobile Battery Bank

Quite a few years ago, back in 2015, Bosch launched a mobile battery power bank in Europe. I wonder if we’re starting to get back to that idea.

The Makita really seems like a dedicated cordless power station solution to me, as you cannot simply . For best performance, you simply can’t swap in whatever 18V or XGT 40V Max batteries you want.

Still, this is a very interesting development.

Whether you bought into Makita’s cordless systems or not, is this something you would act to your kit?

At this time, there has been no word about whether the BAC01 will be launching in the USA.