A pioneer in portable energy and electric vehicle (EV) charging, ZipCharge, has announced that more than 10,000 people have registered to pre-order a Go portable EV power bank, when they go on sale in 2023.
Launched at COP26 in November 2021, ZipCharge has developed Go from a concept to B Sample prototype, ready for real-world trials and is on track to enter production and deliver the first units to customers in quarter two of 2023. Since launching, pre-order registrations have come in from 88 countries and every continent across the globe.
Indeed, pre-order registrations have come in from every major market for electric vehicles around the world including the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Italy and Sweden. Orders have been received from every country of the EU, as well as from established Asian markets including China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, along with the Middle East and African nations including South Africa, Kenya, Guinea and Nigeria.
Registrations have also come in from many small island nations in Europe, the Caribbean, Pacific Islands and the Mascarene Islands, where there is growing concern about energy resiliency and a lack of EV charging infrastructure to support EV adoption.
ZipCharge is developing the Go based upon the same rigorous engineering approach as major car manufacturers. It is building several iterations of prototypes from validation through to pre-production, all of which will undergo an extensive testing regime.
“Reaching 10,000 pre-order registrations in seven months shows the appetite the public has for our innovative portable EV charger,” said ZipCharge Co-founder Jonathan Carrier.
“People around the world are seeing how it will transform energy while enabling EV ownership – and there has been particular interest in island nations where there is growing concern about energy resiliency and lack of infrastructure both at home and in public.”
Pre-orders have come in from every major EV market around the world.
The company’s engineers are currently optimising the performance of the portable EV charger’s key system components – including the NMC lithium-ion battery cells and the ZipCharge-designed bi-directional AC-DC converter – in order to evaluate thermal behaviour, charging performance, safety, durability and full functionality to ensure a seamless and safe ownership experience for everyday charging.
“Some 50% of people who registered already have a fixed home charger. They see the Go as an essential tool that provides more flexibility and convenience, to charge anywhere they park,” Carrier continued.
“They are also keen to realise the benefits of our unique bi-directional technology giving them the ability to arbitrage electricity simply by leaving the Go plugged into their home electricity. Buying overnight when electricity is cheaper, storing it in the Go to use it to power the home or sell it back to the grid at peak times.”
In April this year, ZipCharge also revealed the GoHub, a portable EV charging hub for shared, public use. The GoHub aims to revolutionise public charging provision, providing a community-based solution that can be installed anywhere, at a much lower cost and at a much faster rate, while enabling any parking space to be a charging spot.
