ZipCharge has revealed the GoHub, the world’s first portable EV charging infrastructure for shared, public use. The GoHub is a revolution in public charging provision, providing a community-based solution that can be installed anywhere, at a much lower cost and at a much faster rate, while enabling any parking space to be a charging spot. The ability to roll out Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure at speed is essential to allow national and local governments to deploy it at a faster rate where it is needed the most to support mass EV adoption. EV owners will now have the choice to purchase the Go outright, on a subscription, or rent one through the GoHub.

The GoHub hosts multiple ZipCharge Go EV power banks to address the need for convenient, flexible, and low-cost energy. It is a secure way of housing, recharging, and providing access to the ZipCharge Go so that anyone can access a portable power bank at the lowest cost. The GoHub is modular and flexible in size, suitable for a diverse number of locations, including on-street, in car parks, at work, and in private environments.

ZipCharge Co-founder, Jonathan Carrier “We intend to establish the world’s first vertically integrated ‘energy point operator’ (EPO) to serve hundreds of millions of people around the world so everyone can access convenient and low-cost energy. The ZipCharge Go and the GoHub enable the storage of clean energy, which can then be distributed for a multitude of uses from charging an EV to powering equipment.

“We predict our portable power banks will outsell fixed home chargers by 2030, in the same way, mobile phones overtook landlines. That’s because the Go can be used for more than charging EV charging, it’s a portable energy storage device for personal energy management. We have the bold ambition to deploy 100,000 GoHubs globally by 2030 to support EV charging, local grid resiliency, and energy democracy.”

ZipCharge Co-founder, Richie Sibal, “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.”

In its base form, the GoHub comes in two variants; a single-sided unit that houses five ZipCharge Go portable power banks or a double-sided GoHub with ten. Both fit comfortably into a regular parking space. It can also be sited on the pavement or close to where power already exists. All GoHubs can be intelligently reconfigured, expanded, and connected together with minimal investment, growing in tandem with the adoption of electric vehicles.

Through the GoHub, ZipCharge Go power banks will be available to rent 24 hours a day with the option to pre-reserve a Go in the app. As the user approaches the correct bay door of the GoHub automatically opens. They then easily pull out the charger from its dock inside the GoHub, wheel it to the vehicle and plug it in. Once finished, the user is notified on their smartphone, they collect the Go and return it to the bay allocated via the app.

Anytime access will allow anyone to use a Go power bank for a simple to understand fee: £1, €1 or $1 for a 4kWh charge with no connection fee. This simple and transparent pricing allows everyone to know what their daily driving will cost. ZipCharge aims to provide lower prices per kWh compared to fixed AC charging given the integrated Energy Storage System in the GoHub allows ZipCharge to take cleaner, cheaper electricity overnight.

The GoHub has been conceived with every community in mind, integrating a range of optional technologies including rainwater harvesting, Wi-Fi hotspot, mobile device charging, a green living roof and renewable energy generation, including innovative wind turbines suitable for both urban and rural environments developed by Flower Turbines in the Netherlands. The GoHub can also provide sustainable charging solutions for other forms of mobility with an optional micromobility docking station for eScooters and eBikes that integrates with any provider.

The GoHubs re-use end-of-life batteries from the ZipCharge Go as the integrated Energy Storage System. This presents a genuine circular approach to extending battery life and usability, while also lowering cost. The integrated ESS in the GoHubs provides resiliency to the local grid by charging the Go chargers at times of peak grid demand, feeding the portable chargers at times of peak energy demand, reducing grid dependence, and building resiliency.

The GoHubs will be three times cheaper and three times faster to install versus fixed on street level 2 chargers, transforming the payback period for AC public charging from 8-10 years to less than two. This would allow the government and public funding support to install more chargers in more locations. They can also be placed where the grid can best cope with the extra load, as well as being far less disruptive to the streetscape.

GoHubs will come with a suite of technology support. They will all be networked to the ZipCharge cloud and back-office with energy management and remote monitoring software to ensure operational safety and optimise charging costs and energy use.

Engineered to the same standards as automotive electronics systems, the lightweight ZipCharge Go power bank is the size of a compact wheeled suitcase which can be charged in a GoHub, at home or elsewhere using a standard domestic plug at a lower cost per kWh of electricity when compared to public on-street charging. Using the retractable handle, users then wheel it to wherever they’ve parked their EV and plug it into the charging port.

The port locks the charging cable in, securing the charger with the vehicle. 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 and can then be neatly stored in the trunk/boot, or at home. ZipCharge Go can be used in all normal weather conditions like a normal fixed charge point.