As fully electric vehicles grow in popularity, one of the biggest barriers to their widespread adoption is the lack of charging stations; Urban Electric is a new company that aims to make those charging stations a more prominent but less visible part of city infrastructure. The company produces an EV charging port, called the UEone, that pops up from underground when vehicles need to use it and retracts into the street when not in use.
People living in more suburban areas with access to garages are able to set up EV charging ports on their own property, but those living in more densely packed urban environments simply don't have that option. Urban Electric's UEone can be set up in 90 percent of these dense residential areas, giving those people access to electric charging without further cluttering street space.
What's Driving This Trend
- Pop-up EV Chargers
- Urban Electric offers a new type of charging infrastructure for EVs that is less visible and more space-saving.
- Invisible Infrastructure
- Invisible EV charging ports open up opportunities for creative urban design, and could be used for other types of infrastructure as well.
- Shared EV Infrastructure
- Pop-up EV chargers could help EV owners reduce the need for individual charging infrastructure, encouraging the uptake of EVs among city dwellers.
Who This Affects Most
- Electric Vehicle
- Pop-up charging ports increase accessibility to EV charging and encourages EV adoption among city-dwellers.
- Urban Engineering
- Pop-up EV chargers provide a new solution for creating charging infrastructure that is less visible, less disruptive, and space-saving.
- Sustainable Energy
- Pop-up EV charging stations increase access to sustainable transportation and reduce reliance on oil-based energy.
