I've reviewed dozens of electric cars and, without doubt, the worse part of EV ownership is the constant dread that you could run out of power and get stranded on the side of the road, laughed at by all of the ICE drivers who can refuel their car wherever and whenever they want at the thousands of petrol stations in the UK.
Aiming to ease that worry, as well as democratise the ownership of electric vehicles, is ZipCharge, which has developed the Go, a revolutionary portable EV charger that allows anyone to charge their electric vehicles anywhere they park.
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The lightweight ZipCharge Go power bank is the size of a compact wheeled suitcase which can be charged at home or elsewhere using a standard domestic plug. Using the retractable handle, you can then wheel it to wherever you’ve parked your EV and plug it into the charging port.
The ZipCharge Go provides up to 20 miles (32km) of range, providing sufficient range for the average daily commute (in UK/EU), in a little over 30 mins.
It's perfect for the particularly anxious amongst us, and also means you don't need to rely on the UK's far-from-perfect EV charging infrastructure, which at best is slow, and at worst unreliable.
What's particularly smart about the ZipCharge Go is that is features a bi-directional AC-DC inverter, which enables two-way charging from the grid to the unit, and from the unit to the grid. That means the power bank can be used to store cheap off-peak energy and feed it back into the grid at peak times.
Integrated 4G connectivity enables you to remotely manage your Go charger via the ZipCharge mobile app and monitor the device and schedule charging events so the power pack is always ready for when they need it.
The Go also features artificial intelligence that will enable ZipCharge to learn your charging patterns and make schedule recommendations to optimise charging at off-peak times, saving money and reducing the load on the grid.
When it comes to paying for the ZipCharge Go, like Peloton, ZipCharge will offer its hardware-as-a-service. Chargers will be available to purchase outright or on subscription for as little as £49 a month.
This is possible because ZipCharge has set the ambitious target to offer the Go at a price comparable to the fully installed cost of a level 2 home charge point.
Basic software functionality will be available to everyone so they can plan and schedule charging, with the enhanced AI software functionality and insurance on subscription for a monthly fee which ZipCharge claims could save the user £15-20 on average per month.
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