- The GoHub will ‘power communities’ to make EV charging and access to energy more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable
- Shared access to Go power banks on-street in residential areas or off-street in any location such as supermarkets, shopping centers, and destination hubs
- Infrastructure that works in any location, rural or urban, to accelerate the deployment of public charging, particularly disadvantaged and underrepresented communities
- Three times faster and cheaper to install than comparative on-street charging and designed to fit into a single parking space
- A fully modular design enables GoHubs to be customized to the needs of the local community and location with a range of community, energy, and mobility options
- Features more than 100kWh of second-life batteries to store clean energy, recharging Go power banks and providing balancing services to the grid
- With the GoHub, ZipCharge is uniquely positioned as the world’s first “energy point operator” providing energy-as-a-service in a future decentralized energy network
- ZipCharge targets the global deployment of 100,000 GoHubs by 2030 to support EV charging, local grid resiliency, and energy democracy
22nd April 2022 ZipCharge, today (Earth Day) 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 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.
Table of Contents
ZipCharge GoHub EV Chargign Solution
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.
Designed for modularity and expandability
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 with minimal investment, growing in tandem with the adoption of electric vehicles.
Take the charger to the vehicle wherever you park
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.
Transparent pricing to charge for daily driving needs
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.
Inclusive features to power communities and enable electric mobility
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.
A circular approach to integrated second-life battery storage
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.
Improving the business case for public AC charging
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.
Golub’s 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 optimize charging costs and energy use.
GoHub Functionality
The GoHub makes the ZipCharge Go portable chargers more accessible to more people. The mission of ZipCharge is to democratize access to energy and address the inequality that exists around EV charging.
With the GoHub, our portable power banks will be available for anyone to rent, making them even more accessible to more people. The consumer will now have the choice to purchase the Go outright, on a subscription, or rent through the GoHub.
These access pathways are not mutually exclusive and ZipCharge will provide customers who own a Go at home with additional benefits if they access a Go through a GoHub. This is part of our broader strategy to make access to energy more affordable, more convenient, and lower cost for everyone.
Intelligent control through the ZipCharge app
ZipCharge has developed an integrated software solution that provides access to and control of the Go regardless of if the customer has a Go power bank at home or accesses one through the GoHub.
All functions are in a single app that provides access authentication, usage history, and energy consumption no matter where a Go is used and how it is accessed. This provides transparency and a unified record of access to the ZipCharge energy platform.
Prebook and reserve Go power banks ahead of time
Certain access to EV charging is a key customer concern, with many wanting the ability to reserve a charge point for when they need it. Adopting learnings from other mobility providers (such as car-sharing operators), ZipCharge will allow customers to check the availability and charge status of the Go power banks in a GoHub in real-time and then reserve one for a limited period to ensure its available when they arrive. Alternatively, the user can access a Go power bank immediately when at the GoHub.
EV charging that’s easy to access and simple to use
The GoHub will provide drivers with easy access, and affordable and convenient charging no matter where they park. All drivers will be able to pay with contactless payment via the integrated terminal, and the GoHub will support a range of payment providers.
ZipCharge will promote interoperability of its GoHub network to ensure open access to public charge points. However, customers will still need to use the app to authenticate their phone to the Go power bank and use the app to control charging.
Take the charge to the vehicle wherever you park
Through the GoHub, ZipCharge Go power banks will be available to rent 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, within a five-minute walk from where the user needs one.
Department for Transport research in the UK shows that almost four in five (79%) car owners who park on-street reported their walking time (from car to home) to typically be less than two minutes, and almost all (95%) reported a walk of 10 minutes or less. Having pre-reserved or selected a Go in the app, the correct bay door of the GoHub automatically opens as the user approaches.
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 the app, they collect the Go and return it to the bay allocated via the app. The door will open, so the power bank can return to its ‘home’ GoHub.
Transparent pricing to charge for daily driving needs
McKinsey estimates in the future “drivers might end up paying between five and ten times more per kilowatt-hour than those who charge their EVs at home.” A recent study by the Resolution Foundation in the UK states “Drivers with no off-street parking must use public charging and miss £950 in savings“.
ZipCharge wants to address this with the GoHub by making charging in public comparable to the cost of charging at home. 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 and £2, €2, or $2 for an 8kWh charge (equivalent to 25p or 25c/kWh).
This simple and transparent pricing allows everyone to know what their daily driving will cost, based on a Go providing enough charge for the typical average daily miles traveled. There will also be no connection charge to use a Go power bank, but access will be time-limited to encourage a timely return and increase utilization. ZipCharge aims to provide lower prices per kWh compared to fixed AC charging given the integrated energy storage in the GoHub allows ZipCharge to take cleaner, cheaper electricity overnight.
Dynamic pricing options based on energy mix and local generation
ZipCharge aims to pioneer dynamic pricing to better manage energy efficiently and incentivize access to greener energy. ZipCharge also believes this needs to be delivered at a local level, particularly as countries start to evaluate local energy pricing as the UK has announced.
Depending on the GoHub location, the supply and cost of renewable energy stored at off-peak times, then ZipCharge will vary pricing at a local level and at different times during the day at prices cheaper than the Anytime access. This will be managed by the intelligent back-end software development by ZipCharge and working in close cooperation with energy suppliers and DSOs.
Enhanced benefits for ZipCharge Go owners and GoHub network members
ZipCharge will provide value-added services for customers who own a Go at home, with preferential pricing when renting from a GoHub. Separately, users of the GoHub network will have the option to become members of the ZipCharge energy platform for a small monthly fee.
This will provide lower GoHub pricing when compared to anytime access and unlock dynamic pricing to incentivize charging at different times of the day, based on demand and renewable energy generation. This will allow customers to take advantage of energy-optimized pricing so they can access the cleanest and cheapest energy for their needs.
