Siemens Smart Infrastructure in the USA has unveiled a new sustainable, electric-vehicle-charging concept structure designed for electrifying fleets and other high-demand charging applications. According to the company, the design enables quick installation at scale and easy expansion and maintenance to help meet the growing demand for EV-charging infrastructure.
The VersiCharge XL concept (UL standard), which uses a modular, scalable design, resembles a modern-day fuelling station. It’s the first EV-charging system to house all of the necessary electrical infrastructure components in an above-ground, enclosed, low-carbon structure.The above-ground design requires minimal disruption to existing parking lots by eliminating costly, time-consuming and substantial civics works, as well as reducing on-site construction waste and environmental impact.
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The product was developed in collaboration with Nexii, a green-construction-technology company.
‘The massive growth of electric mobility requires an easy and rapid expansion of a reliable and sustainable charging infrastructure,’ said Markus Mildner, CEO of eMobility at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. ‘This specific concept shows how Siemens and its partners are working on new, innovative ideas to help support this growth in the US market. Working closely with partners globally to meet local needs is very important to us and this cooperation embodies that spirit.’
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The VersiCharge XL concept (UL standard) takes proven power-distribution technologies used indoors in locations such as data centres and industrial facilities and elevates them above ground in a weather-resistant, outdoor enclosure. It’s designed to be installed to charge large numbers of EVs using either level 2 or level 3 EV chargers in outdoor environments, ranging from small office building parking areas to last-mile logistic hubs, and potentially even sports stadium parking areas.
‘Construction and transportation are two of the biggest sources of carbon emissions driving climate change today,’ said Stephen Sidwell, co-founder and CEO of Nexii. ‘Bringing together Siemens and Nexii demonstrates the power of rapid ideation and development of solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. We’re excited to unveil this initial EV charger prototype and look forward to even more innovations we can make working together.’
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The prototype’s vertical structure was built using Nexii’s building material Nexiite, which has comparable properties to concrete but significantly less embodied carbon.