SUSTAINABILITY
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A s the uptake of electric vehicles continues to grow exponentially around the developed world , the question of infrastructure still looms large . For EVs to truly enter the mainstream , consumers need the peace of mind that they will find a charging point as easily as a petrol station , and that a low charge far from home is not cause for alarm . Installing a fixed infrastructure at the scale required throws up a number of challenges which are ultimately unified under the common denominators of significant cost , time consumption , and even sheer impossibility in some locations .
FreeWire , based in San Leandro , California , has devised a particularly ingenious solution to these issues with its Mobi devices . The rolling charger units plug into wall sockets and incorporate integrated batteries as a buffer between the grid and EV , boosting the charge rate without causing a sudden spike in demand from the grid . The result is a product that is mobile , can be used practically anywhere with a power source , and offers faster charging than the trickle charge stations currently found in many inner cities . Arcady Sosinov , co-Founder and CEO of FreeWire , says that Mobi ’ s manoeuvrability is not in itself its biggest draw . “ It ’ s unique , and it ’ s not simply mobile charging . It ’ s easy to look at a product
FEBRUARY 2019