A portable electric vehicle charger could appear on the market as early as next year, according to its manufacturer.
ZipCharge has announced that the ZipCharge Go has reached the validation prototype stage in its production, with designs released for manufacture and hardware testing having commenced. It is expected to be available to fleets in 2023, if all goes according to plan.
ZipCharge says that the charger will make home charging possible for the thousands of EV drivers without access to off-street parking, as well as being able to charge wherever people park. The Go is around the size of a compact suitcase, can be wheeled in a similar way, and can deliver a full charge in 30-60 minutes.
A full charge provides 20-40 miles of range, enough for the average commute. For fleets it could be used as a top-up or to give enough charge to reach a rapid or high power public charging point.
“Achieving this key milestone in the development of the portable EV charger is a major achievement by our small and dedicated team of expert automotive engineers,” said ZipCharge co-founder Richie Sibal.
“Drawing on the team’s 170 years of experience in designing automotive electronic systems, including EV control systems, battery modules, power electronics, electrical architectures, functional safety and wiring systems, combined with significant expertise in CAD modelling and design has enabled us to progress from the drawing board to design release in under nine months.”
It is estimated that 40% of households in the UK that own a car do not have access to off-street parking, and public charging is inconvenient and expensive by comparison. ZipCharge have developed the Go to address this ‘charging inequality’, which it sees as the main barrier to EV adoption.
