There were a lot of big ideas being thrown around at the COP26 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, U.K., ranging from commitments to stop deforestation to limiting methane emissions. But companies were also there to show off ways to give EV owners some extra juice.
ZipCharge is a new U.K.-based startup that has unveiled the Go. It's a suitcase-sized battery pack that weighs in at about 50 pounds. With a 4 kWh capacity, it can charge an EV at 7.2 kW. A single charge can add 12 to 20 miles of range, depending on the EV.
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"To encourage people to make the switch to electric we have to create charging infrastructure that makes it easier, cheaper, and more convenient to charge," said Jonathan Carrier, co-founder of ZipCharge in a press release (via Inside EVs.) "The Go does that, by allowing anyone to charge no matter where they park... ZipCharge is a solution for a real need."
Not only could drivers keep a ZipCharge Go in their trunk, it's possible for hotels or service stations to have units available in case a car needs a bit more charge to make it home.
There's also an 8 kWh version of the ZipCharge Go in the works, that can add 25-40 miles of range.
Powering the Go are high-energy-density lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide (NMC) battery cells. The Go, as mentioned in the trailer above, has a bi-directional AC-DC inverter, which enables charging from the grid to the Go and from the Go to the grid. Yes, the Go can actually store energy during off-peak hours and sell energy back to the grid.
There's also an app that can monitor the Go's charging. The Go has OCPP-compliant smart charging, over-the-air updates (like Tesla) and remote diagnostics via the app. That means the Go has built-in 4G to communicate with other internet-enabled devices.
ZipCharge is touting the Go's built-in AI, which will learn a user's charging habits and will make recommendations to users on what times are best to charge up.
Unfortunately, pricing for the ZipCharge Go has not been announced. There will be a leasing program, starting at $67 a month. The AI software will be included for subscribers, and ZipCharge estimates that could save users $20-27 per month. ZipCharge plans on shipping units out to customers in Q4 of 2022.
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