Mobile charging is getting closer

China Energy Storage Network reported: " Compared with fixed charging piles, mobile charging equipment, as a supplementary solution, can provide effective solutions to problems such as uneven distribution of charging piles, slow charging speed, and long construction period. The development of mobile charging vehicles in the future will definitely be an indispensable part of the charging process."

After much difficulty, I found a parking space for charging, but I found that a fuel car was parked there, making the charging pile unusable; I suddenly found that the battery was low while driving, but I couldn’t find a charging pile, so I couldn’t charge the electric car in time; I was in a hurry to use the car, but there were only two or three charging piles in the parking lot, and there were more than a dozen vehicles waiting in line for charging...

Aiming at the above-mentioned problems of limited charging of electric vehicles, AIWAYS recently announced that its CARL fully automatic intelligent charging robot (hereinafter referred to as "CARL") related to electric vehicle applications has been officially granted 7 patents in China and Europe. With the active layout of car companies, is the era of mobile charging really coming?

Many car companies are actively exploring

It is understood that CARL is a fully automatic mobile charging device for electric vehicles developed by AIWAYS to address the pain points of travel charging. It has four major advantages: no installation site restrictions, no charging parking space restrictions, no charging operation restrictions, and no equipment power restrictions.

"CARL is not restricted to fixed locations. When needed, users can simply 'summon' it with one click through a smartphone APP, and it will automatically drive to your car, start charging mode, and automatically return to its original location after charging is completed." A relevant person in charge of AIWAYS said that after automatically locating the vehicle, CARL will independently complete the charging operation, from opening the charging cover to plugging in and out the charging gun, without the need for manual operation by the user. "In addition, since it uses a built-in battery mode, similar to a mobile power bank, it is not limited by the power supply of the power grid in parking garages or public areas."

In addition to Aiways, Ford also favors mobile charging. According to the US Patent Office, Ford filed a patent application related to electric vehicle applications in September 2018, titled "Portable Charging System and Charging Method", which is able to combine multiple chargers together, so that users can flexibly optimize the use of chargers according to the needs of vehicle charging. The application principle is similar to our common mobile phone power bank. However, the US Patent Office stated that "the patent application is still under review."

At the same time, Volkswagen, Tesla and other companies have also smelled the business opportunities of mobile charging and have frequently made plans in recent years. Recently, Volkswagen Auto Parts Company joined hands with Shanghai Pudu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. to jointly establish Enova (Suzhou) New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., planning to produce flexible energy storage fast charging piles in China. Tesla has also previously exposed a mobile charging vehicle loaded with Tesla commercial energy storage batteries and multiple fast charging piles, which has the ability to provide fast charging for 8 Tesla models at the same time.

"This type of charging pile is movable. Users can change the installation site of the charging pile at any time according to their own usage habits and frequency, thereby improving their usage efficiency," said Enovi New Energy Company.

Good market response

The reporter noticed that mobile charging is not just a strategic plan for car companies. Many companies in the market have already seized the opportunity and started operating it.

"Currently, mobile charging equipment on the market has two main uses. One is for emergency rescue, and the other is to provide door-to-door services to customers. Among them, mobile charging vehicles that provide charging services for buses are currently the mainstream use." A relevant person in charge of Zhongchuang Technology e-charging network told reporters.

In order to understand the actual use of mobile charging equipment, the reporter recently visited a charging station near Jianxiang Bridge in Haidian District, Beijing. In the station, the reporter found that there were dozens of commuter electric buses parked, but there were only four available charging piles.

"Due to the limitation of capacitance, it is impossible to build unlimited charging piles in the station." The station staff told reporters that due to the epidemic, the number of vehicles used during this period was relatively small, so it seemed that the charging problem was not a big problem. "But with so many vehicles at ordinary times, it is impossible to charge all the vehicles within the specified time with only a few charging piles in the station. Because these are shuttle buses that pick up employees to and from get off work, they pick up people in the morning and evening, and charge in the middle. The usage time is relatively fixed, so we usually use 1-2 charging vehicles."

A bus driver at the scene also told reporters that companies usually send charging vehicles to provide door-to-door services, and the buses in the station do not need to be moved, so the experience of using them is relatively good. "We only need to cooperate with the staff to complete the relevant registration, and the charging vehicle driver will charge the bus. It is very convenient to use, and the price is charged according to the electricity fee, which is not much different from using a charging pile."

In addition, the current new mobile charging equipment can also be installed on roadside rescue vehicles for emergency rescue. "If the electric car is out of power, can't find a charging pile or the car is really unable to drive, users can find the 'charging rescue' entrance on our APP to obtain charging rescue services." The relevant person in charge of Zhongchuang Technology e-charging network pointed out.

The slow growth of new energy vehicles has become a constraint

"There are still some problems in the development of mobile charging vehicles, such as high fuel and personnel costs and different restrictions on charging vehicles in different cities." Wang Hao, general manager of Beijing Wanzun New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., pointed out that although policies strongly promote new energy vehicles, the number of electric vehicles is still small at this stage and the market is small. "The slow increase in new energy vehicles has directly affected the development of mobile charging."

Mr. Chen, a new energy vehicle owner, has deep feelings about this: "In certain situations, such as when you are out and about, it is really convenient to call a charging car for door-to-door service, and I am willing to pay for this service. But I don't think I will do it in daily life. On the one hand, I have my own charging pile, and on the other hand, the price is a bit expensive."

"The passenger car market still needs to be nurtured, after all, electricity prices are relatively high. At present, it is more practical to use it for rescue." The relevant person in charge of the above-mentioned Zhongchuang Technology e-charging network admitted that in some daily door-to-door charging orders, some users did report that the prices were too high.

However, some industry insiders believe that with the development of the new energy vehicle industry, such as the surge in the number of electric buses and electric logistics vehicles, and the large-scale development of mobile charging equipment, issues such as cost and road rights will definitely be resolved.

"Compared with fixed charging piles, mobile charging equipment, as a supplementary solution, can provide effective solutions to problems such as uneven distribution of charging piles, slow charging speed, and long construction period." Wang Hao told reporters that the development of mobile charging vehicles in the future will definitely be an indispensable part of the charging process. "In the future, mobile charging equipment and charging piles will form a complete charging circle, and customers can enjoy seamless charging services in the charging circle, thus achieving the goal of charging on the go and using on the go."