New York-based company Voltpost has announced the commercial availability of its innovative, award-winning curbside EV-charging solution. This spring, the company is developing and deploying EV charging projects in several major US metropolitan areas, including New York, Chicago and Detroit.
Voltpost’s charging solution involves retrofitting lampposts into a modular and upgradable Level 2 EV-charging platform powered by a mobile app. This first-of-a-kind platform provides people with convenient and affordable charging while reducing the install cost and time, maintenance and footprint of chargers for communities.
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While Voltpost can serve any EV, the lamppost charging platform proves particularly valuable for urban EV drivers living in multi-unit housing who lack dedicated parking spaces and have nowhere to charge an EV near their home. Unlike other curbside charging solutions, Voltpost can install a charger in one-to-two hours for a fraction of the cost with no construction, trenching or extensive permitting processes. The ease of installation helps bring more EV charging to underserved communities, high-density areas and other ‘charging deserts’.
‘Voltpost is striving to make EV chargers as common as the traditional lamppost. We are empowering people with convenient and affordable charging access that fits into the fabric of the built environment,’ said Jeff Prosserman, co-founder and CEO of Voltpost. ‘As we bring our differentiated curbside and parking lot charging solution to market, we are confident that Voltpost will build more sustainable and resilient communities by decarbonising mobility.’
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The Voltpost curbside EV charging solution features an integrated retractable cable-management system in the charger that maximises uptime and lowers operating and maintenance cost, with more than six metres of cable for convenient access to any part of the vehicle; a flexible and adaptive design for various use cases and environments, accommodating either two or four charging ports; safety features that exceed the industry-standard specifications for environmental exposure and vandalism; a proprietary ChargePlug with a pulsing light that routes the cable at a 90˚ angle to the car socket ensuring that the cable doesn’t present a hazard to adjacent traffic and pedestrians; a modular platform design, allowing for quick and easy exchanges and upgrades; a mobile app that enables drivers to manage charging events and features a map of available and in-use Voltpost chargers, the power to make reservations and to pay ; and a charge station management system that provides charging analytics for public and private stakeholders, and enables site hosts to set charger features such as pricing, and remotely monitor chargers.
‘Many people hesitate to buy an EV due to range anxiety and lack of charging options. Imagine what that’s like for people living in cities in multi-unit dwellings and no dedicated parking,’ said Voltpost advisor Laura Fox, co-founder and managing partner at Streetlife Ventures and former general manager of Citi Bike. ‘Voltpost’s solution is a no-brainer for urban curbside charging – it uses and upgrades existing urban infrastructure for a fraction of the cost of traditional approaches, while enabling future urban use cases for that infrastructure – from 5G installs to air-quality monitoring, e-bike charging and more. The Voltpost team has the vision and experience to provide urban EV users across all economic backgrounds with access to charging and accelerate the electric mobility transition.’
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Last year, Voltpost participated in the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Studio programme, a collaboration between the NYC DOT and Newlab. During the programme, Voltpost piloted the installation of charging stations on lampposts in New York, contributing to the city’s goal of installing 10,000 curbside chargers.
Voltpost installed chargers on lampposts at Newlab and in a DOT parking lot, gaining insights into cost-effective and efficient deployment strategies and informing the commercial launch. Voltpost’s chargers were installed in one hour, operated with the highest uptime of any service in the pilot programme and elicited positive feedback from New York drivers.