London may soon be the testing ground for a series of new street light electric car charging stations, if the company Char.gy succeeds in their endeavor to bring curbside recharging to London streets.
The CEO of Char.gy, Richard Stobart, recently stated that: “Seventy-two percent of drivers in London don’t have off-street parking. If you want an electric car, not being able to charge at home is a major disincentive.”
London is not unique in this regard, as Tech Crunch reports that one of the major barriers to adoption of electric cars is the lack of infrastructure, such as convenient charging stations. Char.gy is looking to change that, and Sobart acknowledges that people would like to be able to charge their cars while they are engaged in other activities, such as sleeping in their beds or while shopping.
Right now, parking on the street in London and charging an electric car is not always possible, but if Char.gy’s endeavor brings street light chargers to the streets of London, that will change soon.
The first functional street light charging stations will appear this upcoming summer. As for what the charging stations will cost, Stobart explains that their business model will be similar to mobile phone contracts.
Stobart says of the business model:
“Users pay a monthly fee for access to the charge points and a free allocation of charge… We are trying to create a win-win solution for everyone, not least local government. We are making it seamless and effectively free for the councils and solving the problem of half of all public charge points being out of service.”
