Portable electric vehicle charging specialist ZipCharge has unveiled what it claims is the world's first portable public charging infrastructure for public use – which can be used to multiple forms of electric transport.
The GoHub is a modular infrastructure for EV charging. It contains a number of the firm's Zipcharge Go EV powerbanks, which can then be accessed by users. Once used, the units can be returned to the GoHub for charging.
ZipCharge cites streets, car parks and offices as locations where a GoHub could be established. The unit was conceived as a portable electric car charger, but could also be used to charge other machines, such as e-scooters and e-bikes.
The GoHub will be offered in two variants: a base unit features five ZipCharge Go powerbanks, or a double-sided unit with 10. Both will fit into a regular parking space, and ZipCharge claims they can be quickly reconfigured and expanded should demand for EV charging increase.
The future of electric car charging without using the public network
Each unit hours ZipCharge's regular portable powerbanks, which can then be taken out and plugged into a car wherever it is parked. The powerbanks will be able to rent 24 hours a day, and users will be able to pre-reserve a charger through an app. It will cost £1 per 4kWh, with no connection fee.
Each ZipCharge Go powerbank is roughly the size of a compact suitcase and can provide up to 20 miles of range in just over 30 minutes.
ZipCharge claims the GoHubs will be three times cheaper and faster to install than fixed street chargers. The hubs will re-use end-of-life ZipCharge Go batteries as an integrated storage system, which helps to lower cost. The firm is aiming to deploy 100,000 of the hubs globally by 2030.
ZipChare co-founder Jonathan Carrier said: “We predict our portable powerbanks will outsell fixed home chargers by 2030, in the same way mobile phones overtook landlines. That’s because the Go can be used for more than charging EV charging, it’s a portable energy storage device for personal energy management."
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