EV charging infrastructure is in the spotlight. Costs have increased, new chargers aren’t being installed fast enough and maintenance contracts aren't being renewed. But a company that's about to roll out in the UK could prove the answer to infrastructure shortcomings.
At the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Autocar spoke with Arcady Sosinov, founder and CEO of charger manufacturer Freewire. The American firm has received significant investment from BP, Chevron, Geely and others, with one charger already installed in Milton Keynes under the BP Pulse umbrella and orders for 64 more.
The chargers utilise battery storage using cells from Envision AESC – the same ones used in the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe.
Sosinov claimed that in the latest Freewire Boost Charger, they have 85% better energy density than a Tesla Powerpack and can provide a 200kW rapid charge throughout the normal daily needs of a public charger.
The idea is simple: using batteries means there’s no need for an expensive direct grid connection. They're quicker and cheaper to install and, because they can run off a normal supply, they can be placed in rural areas that are currently poorly served. They can also be moved more easily if a property lease comes to an end and could potentially be used to bolster capacity at a location during times of higher demand, as we saw during the recent holidays.
“Utility infrastructure is incredibly difficult to bring out,” said Sosinov. “It's costly, and I don't believe that utilities are going to be able to keep up with demand, as we need to move to ubiquitous, widespread fast and ultra-fast charging.”
He admitted that when Freewire began, the idea of using battery storage was a bit odd. At the time, batteries cost around £1250 per usable kWh, but the costs have declined significantly since then, in 2019 reaching the point where it was more cost-effective to use a battery than to install a transformer and switchgear, according to Sosinov.
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