Portable EV charger to give city electric car owners a boost

A new portable electric car charger could help to give EV drivers without access to home charging a way of adding power to their cars.

The ZipCharge Go is around the same size as a compact wheeled suitcase and can be charged at home or elsewhere via a three-pin plug, bringing savings when compared with charging an EV via a public charging point.

Using a retractable handle, users can then wheel the Go to their car and plug it into the charging port. Once connected, the Go will provide up to 20 miles of range in just over 30 minutes – enough, according to ZipCharge, for the average daily commute in the UK. The ZipCharge Go can then be stored in the car’s boot.

The charger also comes with bi-directional AC/DC charging, allowing it to store energy when electricity prices are low and feed it back to the grid at peak times. Revealed at the Cop26 event this week, the first ZipCharge Go examples are expected to reach customers in Q4 next year.

The Go comes with 2G/4G connectivity as standard, allowing users to remotely manage their charger via an app and schedule charging to ensure that it’s always ready to go when needed. Chargers will be available to purchase outright – though this price has yet to be confirmed – or via a subscription service costing £49 per month. ZipCharge has set a target of making the Go comparable in price to a fully installed Level 2 home charging point.

Jonathan Carrier, ZipCharge Co-founder, said: “One of the key barriers to wider uptake of EVs is charging anxiety; the inability to charge near or at home. ZipCharge removes that hurdle and in doing so, will democratise EV ownership.”