It is a potentially annoying situation for the EV driver. You arrive at your destination with an empty battery in the hope of being able to charge there, but all charging stations are occupied. What now? L-Charge, a start-up from Moscow, thinks it has the solution with a mobile charging station.
L-Charge specializes in ‘off-grid’ charging solutions for EVs, according to the company’s website. In other words: charging points that are not connected to the electricity grid. Because the power network is almost at its maximum capacity, this is an interesting solution on paper. L-Charge wants to manufacture both stationary and mobile charging points. The power comes from a generator that runs on liquefied natural gas, hydrogen or a mixture thereof. In theory, this means that the generator should be more environmentally friendly than one that runs on diesel. L-Charge wants to mainly use the mobile fast chargers in urban areas: you can then order the charger via an app and immediately pay for the tapped electricity.
According to founder Dmitry Lashin, the tapped electricity should cost €0.80 per kWh. For comparison: the current fast charging price at Fastned is €0.71 per kWh without a subscription. Currently, the company has an experimental setup driving around in Moscow, but next year L-Charge plans to scale up its service in London. One generator must generate 1,440 kWh of electricity per day, enough to charge approximately 48 cars per day.
Hooks and eyes
L-Charge’s solution could work in urban areas where the charging infrastructure is not yet optimal, but when you tap electricity from a natural gas generator, it is of course not emission-free. With hydrogen, you have the problem that hydrogen must first be produced (sustainably). The company also provides few concrete figures about the charging speed (‘as fast as the vehicle can take it’) and the expected emissions of its generators. In short: on paper it is a nice solution for the EV driver in need, but it remains to be seen whether this idea can really come to fruition in practice.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl