MOSCOW – Russian startup L-charge plans to bring its mobile turbochargers to tram arrive London in 2022, hoping to benefit from growing demand and limited existing charging infrastructure, the company’s founder told Reuters.
The company’s truck-mounted charger runs on liquid nature Air (LNG), hydrogen or a mixture of both and do not need to be connected to the grid. Dmitry Lashin said in an interview, it takes them 5-7 minutes to charge 80% of the battery of an electric vehicle.
Lashin said his company operates the world’s only LNG/hydrogen mobile supercharger, operating out of Moscow, which receives 5-6 charging requests per day from the city’s 1,000 EVs.
Electric vehicle sales are increasing globally due to demand for alternatives to diesel oil and gasoline cars developed, but there was a lag in the provision of charging points.
Privately owned L-charge raised $1.5 million in September and is looking for partners to help it grow production to 2,000 mobile devices and stationery per year.
Lashin says L-charge is nearing completion of production of two other turbochargers. The London unit will be accessed through an app.
LNG-powered chargers emit three times less CO2 per 100 km than diesel engine cars, but more so than grid-connected chargers in Europe, where L-charge plans to launch after London, Lashin said.
They are also more expensive for customers. The portable L charger will cost about 0.80 euro cents per kilowatt hour, Lashin said, about 1.5-2 times more expensive than existing options, according to Lashin.
But the goal of L-charge is to increase tram use, Lashin said, and expand on what he sees as London’s limited charging infrastructure.
The UK has about 705,000 plug-in vehicles, 365,000 of which are all-electric, the ZAP-MAP platform for electric car drivers shows. Of the 28,000 public chargers, more than 9,000 are in Greater London.
“The problem with electric cars is that even if you have 98% the battery full, you’re still charging,” Lashin said. As a result all slots are occupied and no one is charging. “
When mass-produced, the portable charger will cost about $200,000 and charge about 25 EVs per day, Lashin said.
