ZipCharge Go is a portable powerbank for your electric vehicle

[Shawn Knight]

Editor's take: UK startup ZipCharge has introduced a portable electric vehicle charger that could come in very handy in the right situation. I personally view this as a backup or emergency solution, but ZipCharge believes the best way to charge an EV is when you don’t need to – topping up wherever you park to avoid having to wait at a charging station later on. I'm not sure what would stop a would-be thief from helping themselves to your charger if left unattended in such a scenario, however.

The ZipCharge Go is essentially a portable battery pack like the kind you’d use for a smartphone, except it’s meant for an electric vehicle. The company describes it as a “smart charger on wheels” that’s no bigger than a compact suit case. According to InsideEVs, the Go weighs around 50 pounds.

ZipCharge says the unit is compatible with any plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle with a Type 2 socket, and can be charged from any standard household outlet. A full charge can provide 20 to 40 miles of range depending on your EV and can be delivered in 30 to 60 minutes, depending on capacity and temperature.

A companion smartphone app can be used to schedule charging at the lowest cost, provide status updates and more.

Full details are still pending but according to InsideEVs, units will be available to purchase or lease, with the latter starting around $67 per month. Look for the first examples to be available in Q4 2022.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/92060-zipcharge-go-portable-powerbank-electric-vehicle.html

 

[VitalyT]

This is a complete nonsense.

I trust reputable UK car specialists who are almost unified in how they tried to get a UV for everyday family use, and what kind of disaster it turned out to be, so they switched to a traditional vehicle. Just like many others, UK is forcing the EV nightmare upon its citizens through all means available, which is just a political mind f-k. Charging stations in the meantime remain very sparse, and many are outright unusable. Looks like this whole EV butt hurt will linger on for years to come.

 

[fraggleki]

This is a complete nonsense.

I trust reputable UK car specialists who are almost unified in how they tried to get a UV for everyday family use, and what kind of disaster it turned out to be, so they switched to a traditional vehicle. Just like many others, UK is forcing the EV nightmare upon its citizens through all means available, which is just a political mind f-k. Charging stations in the meantime remain very sparse, and many are outright unusable. Look like this whole EV butt hurt will linger on for years to come.

Currently yes, we need more electric car chargers but in a few years when the infrastructure is there electric vehicles will be far superior. Especially once they get super capacitors inside of electric vehicles that can charge in seconds not minutes or hours.

 

[VitalyT]

Especially once they get super capacitors inside of electric vehicles that can charge in seconds not minutes or hours.

Are you talking about flux capacitors?

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Well, technically it works exactly like a Mophie. You run nearly out of power, you can increase yor range slightly with emergency power. It makes all the sense in the world. I expect a lot of tow truck guys, AAA guys and other services to buy batteries like this.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Are you talking about flux capacitors?

Super Capacitors are great for exotics that have engines (hybrids) to run electric motors, but they don't make as much sense for full EV.

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

I need one of those for my iPhone.

 

[rrwards]

I really think the plug in and hybrid model is the way to go until charging stations are more universally available. The "prime" models that Toyota makes are a good example. They have a battery that's smaller than an EV, but bigger than the regular hybrid models. So you can drive around town using only electric and then recharge at home (usually gets 30-50 mile range). But then for longer trips, you don't have to worry about planning your charging locations as it switches to the traditional hybrid drivetrain when the EV battery runs dry. Seems like the best of both worlds for the time being.

 

[Hardware Geek]

I really think the plug in and hybrid model is the way to go until charging stations are more universally available. The "prime" models that Toyota makes are a good example. They have a battery that's smaller than an EV, but bigger than the regular hybrid models. So you can drive around town using only electric and then recharge at home (usually gets 30-50 mile range). But then for longer trips, you don't have to worry about planning your charging locations as it switches to the traditional hybrid drivetrain when the EV battery runs dry. Seems like the best of both worlds for the time being.

I eventually will get an electric but for right now, hybrid has served me well and has saved me a ton on gas but I have a long commute.

 

[brucek]

Didn't the car manufacturer already spend a lot of time and effort figuring out the optimal battery capacity given all the tradeoffs involved?

If I wanted 50 pounds of more battery in my vehicle, I'd want it included in the original design, not as a bulky extra object rolling around in my trunk.

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

The solution is building "charging pads" for cars into the streets, parking areas, etc. It will work similar to wireless charging on a much bigger scale. Perhaps cars can be charged while driving or if they stop on the road charge up faster. I'm sure the tech is still 50-100 years away tho, but by then perhaps electric cars will have taken over. I'd imagine streets would have to be for cars only as I dont see it being safe walking over a charging pad. However, maybe the charging pads will heat the street and melt the snow too? ahh wishful thinking

 

[Tantor]

Silly. One gallon of gas has about 40 times the energy per volume as that 50 lb 'charging suitcase' and takes only a couple of minutes to fill. I remember being stranded out in the sticks, and even one gallon of gas wasn't enough to get us to the next station. No way is that suitcase going to make a difference.

These EVs are astoundingly obese because they have to haul around 1000 lbs of batteries. For example, the little Honda E weighs 4,000 pounds. That's 1000 lbs more than a gas Civic. Honda E range is 125 miles, compared to 500 for the Civic. And the E is far slower as well. You gain absolutely nothing, and lose so much with EVs.

A concert grand piano weighs 1000 lbs. So this little E is forced to haul the equivalent of a concert grand piano everywhere.

The new electric GMC Hummer EV weighs 9000 lbs. Consider that the average person weighs ~ 150 pounds. That's equivalent to 60 people.

 

[ChrisH1]

Currently yes, we need more electric car chargers but in a few years when the infrastructure is there electric vehicles will be far superior. Especially once they get super capacitors inside of electric vehicles that can charge in seconds not minutes or hours.

When you say 'seconds not minutes', assuming the best possible interpretation of that as 119 seconds because otherwise it would be minutes (2), for a typical 80kWh battery pack you need to supply 2.4 megawatts of current. At the normal voltage for cars (400) that would be about 6,000 amps. Even at the 'new' standard of 800 volts it's 3,000 amps. We've a few problems to solve before we get there, such as how to lift the charging cable which would be about a quarter meter thick!

 

[ChrisH1]

I see this as a gadget of limited usefulness. I'm sure it's not cheap. I've driven a Tesla in Australia since 2015, when infrastructure was a great deal less than it is today. Only came close to running out of charge once, and that was poor planning on my part, I left charging early as I didn't want to be on the road at dusk due to the risk of wildlife on the roads. We drove all over Tasmania 3 years ago, when the number of fast chargers was zero. Sure, I wouldn't jump into it and head off to Wilcandra without planning, but there are places in Australia you wouldn't take *any* car without planning. Horses for courses, as they say. For a very large majority of people the range and the charging options including destination charging are fine. Sure, there's always going to be someone who says 'wouldn't want to go out the back of the Queensland dams without diesel', but you wouldn't want to go there without a winch either, and the number of people who do it is quite low. You want to tow a 10 meter boat and an EV may not be for you. That doesn't mean there's a general problem or deficiency, not many cars would be.

 

[pcnthuziast]

The narrative against fossil fuels is a campaign of outright lies. The push towards the alternative is going to do far more harm to the planet and us. All by design of course. Humans are the greatest technology on earth and paradise was when our relationship with the planet was symbiotic rather than parasitic. The more we pilfer in the pursuit of one upping the maker, the more we forge our own destruction. Lady Liberty is the anti-christ and The New Colossus is the anthem of the enemy.

 

[Godel]

This is a complete nonsense.

I trust reputable UK car specialists who are almost unified in how they tried to get a UV for everyday family use, and what kind of disaster it turned out to be, so they switched to a traditional vehicle. Just like many others, UK is forcing the EV nightmare upon its citizens through all means available, which is just a political mind f-k. Charging stations in the meantime remain very sparse, and many are outright unusable. Looks like this whole EV butt hurt will linger on for years to come.

What, they don't have power connected at home? Most people only do tens of km in their daily commute and in the UK particularly things tend to be closer together than places like the US or Australia.

 

[p51d007]

Especially once they get super capacitors inside of electric vehicles that can charge in seconds not minutes or hours.

When THAT happens, and the range is around 400 miles (and by that I mean with a typical load of people, using the lights, AC/Heat, stereo etc) I MIGHT consider it.

 

[Bobbydpue]

Currently yes, we need more electric car chargers but in a few years when the infrastructure is there electric vehicles will be far superior. Especially once they get super capacitors inside of electric vehicles that can charge in seconds not minutes or hours.

The infrastructure won't be there in a few years. Infrastructure won't be built until after it's needed. Why would a company fund a project to built out a charging station before it's needed? That project would lose money unless the charging station was full for part of the day if not most of the day. If 50 vehicles fill up on petrol in a hour at the busiest part of the day at a petrol station a charging station would have to be able to support charging 50 vehicles in that same period. If it takes 30 minutes to charge enough to continue that charging station will have to support 25 cars at a time rather than 6 fuel pumps. Room for 25 cars is a lot of space.

Do you know what a capacitor is or how they work or how large they are compared to a battery that holds the same amount of power? A capacitor with the same capacity as a lithium battery is many times the physical size and would weigh 20 to 40 times more.

 

[Bobbydpue]

What, they don't have power connected at home? Most people only do tens of km in their daily commute and in the UK particularly things tend to be closer together than places like the US or Australia.

Only people who live in a place where they have access to power where they park can charge their cars at home.

 

[cliffordcooley]

OK, I'm confused! Why would anyone want to put a portable battery pack in their car instead of permanently mounting additional capacity? Are we keeping it portable to potentially charge other vehicles? Seriously why would you buy one and not keep it in the vehicle at all times. Might as well make it permanent.

 

[Geralt]

Silly. One gallon of gas has about 40 times the energy per volume as that 50 lb 'charging suitcase' and takes only a couple of minutes to fill. I remember being stranded out in the sticks, and even one gallon of gas wasn't enough to get us to the next station. No way is that suitcase going to make a difference.

These EVs are astoundingly obese because they have to haul around 1000 lbs of batteries. For example, the little Honda E weighs 4,000 pounds. That's 1000 lbs more than a gas Civic. Honda E range is 125 miles, compared to 500 for the Civic. And the E is far slower as well. You gain absolutely nothing, and lose so much with EVs.

A concert grand piano weighs 1000 lbs. So this little E is forced to haul the equivalent of a concert grand piano everywhere.

The new electric GMC Hummer EV weighs 9000 lbs. Consider that the average person weighs ~ 150 pounds. That's equivalent to 60 people.

Yes, for now petrol cars have the upper hand. But the future is electric, with much less contamination. In the mean time we can buy hybrids, I guess.

 

[nestorius]

Stupid people buying into this hype! Electric cars will do nothing for our climate except screw it up more!

 

[captaincranky]

So now you're supposed to buy a "battery-battery", for these electo-turds?