The GoHub is an Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure hosting multiple ZipCharge Go Powerbanks to be stalled, charged and easily accessible when ready for use. It could offer a community-based solution that could be installed anywhere, in support of the mass EV adoption across the UK.
The flexibility in building the infrastructure could make it suitable to easily install across several diverse locations. This includes on-street, car parks (such as at work, superstores or hotels), and even private properties following its installation approval. EV owners have the personal choice to rent the Go through the GoHub, buy the Go on subscription or outright.
ZipCharge claims that GoHub is the world's first portable EV charging infrastructure for public and shared use. It serves EV users with a potentially convenient and low-cost charging whenever they need to charge, wherever they may park. It could potentially be the ultimate solution for EV users who live in areas where they don't have access to private parking to get personal charger points installed.
Richie Sibal, ZipCharge Co-founder, sayd: "The Go and the GoHub are integral components of our future energy platform, one that combines hardware, software and distributed energy storage in the home and our public energy points to provide a wide range of energy services for our customers. We will use technology to solve the inequality that exists around access to charging and energy by placing a ZipCharge Go unit within five minutes' walk of where people live and park."
Design
The design of the GoHub infrastructure comes in two variants. A smaller single-sided unit housing five ZipCharge Go power banks or a larger double-sided infrastructure that fits ten of the portable power banks. ZipCharge claims that with minimal investment, the GoHub can be reconfigured to connect hubs together or to be expanded. Its expansion would primarily be based upon its demand for the EV charging network.
Accessibility
The ZipCharge Go power banks are available to rent 24 hours a day. You can use the 'Go' app for more details on charging or to pre-reserve before accessing the bay. After appointing a power bank through the app, the user can approach the bay, and the door storing the power bank will automatically open. The Go has a wheelie feature on the bottom, making it easy to wheel over to your EV and plug it in, ready for charging. Upon the completion of the charging, the user will be notified on their smartphone via the app, collect the Go and return it to the allocated bay provided to you through the app.
Pros of the GoHub
The installation of the GoHubs could potentially improve the state of business for public EV charging if it is as easy and accessible to use as Zipcharge claims. GoHubs would come with suitable technology support, be networked to the ZipCharge cloud and back-office for the maintenance of energy management and monitoring software to ensure the safety and optimisation of the charging costs, as well as energy use.
Though its performance is yet to be disclosed, Zipcharge have claimed that it could be X3 cheaper and X3 faster to install, in comparison to the level 2 on-street chargers currently available.