One of the major roadblocks for electric vehicles in urban areas comes down to a lack of chargers. Those who might park on the street do not have a convenient place to charge an EV overnight. Are portable electric vehicle chargers the answer to this inconvenient electric vehicle problem? ZipCharge hopes so.

One of the major problems with electric vehicle chargers is the inconvenience

There are a variety of ways to charge an electric vehicle. When Tesla first arrived on the scene, Tesla Supercharging stations were popular. Tesla offers chargers at popular places like hotels, shopping centers, and other similar areas. There are also stations such as ChargePoint, EVgo, and Electrify America that allow EVs to charge up.

In addition to that, there are a variety of home electric vehicle chargers that drivers can install in a personal garage. But that doesn’t always work if drivers park on the street or don’t have an assigned spot in a parking garage. This makes charging an electric vehicle much more complicated for a large group of people. Plus, public charging is expensive and can be inconvenient if a charging station isn’t nearby.

But a new company has hit the scene with a portable electric vehicle charger. Could this solve the problem of urban EV living?

ZipCharge is a new portable electric vehicle charger

At COP26 this month, ZipCharge presented its new portable electric vehicle charger. The slogan for the new company is called “Charge anywhere you park.” ZipCharge claims the product will improve one of the main barriers for non-EV owners, not charging where you park.

The ZipCharge Go portable charger is a charger on wheels that drivers can charge ahead of time. Drivers can wheel the Go charger to the vehicle and get between 20-40 miles of range. This depends on the vehicle capacity and other factors. However, 20-40 miles of range covers most average commutes.

The Go portable electric vehicle charger takes between 30 and 60 minutes to charge. It comes with an app that allows you to choose a less expensive charging time plus updates and other information. ZipCharge plans on offering the charger in 4 kWh and 8 kWh for a wider audience. The 8 kWh will take an hour or so to charge an EV fully but will also add additional miles.

How much will the ZipCharge Go portable EV charger cost?

ZipCharge says the Go portable charger will cost $68 a month. The company also says it will cost the same as a fully-installed home charger, varying widely. It would likely cost between $600 and $1,200, but exact pricing is yet to be released.

This could be the start of something great for electric vehicles in urban landscapes. The possibility of someone stealing the charger hasn’t been brought up yet, but perhaps that will be revealed at a later date. Maybe you can lock the electric vehicle charger in the trunk while it is charging.

ZipCharge says that the Go electric vehicle charger is set to start delivery in Q4 2022. That’s still a year away, which gives the company plenty of time to work some details out. This is a good start, though.