US e-bike and electric moped rental firm, Revel, has unveiled a fast charging ‘superhub’ in New York ahead of the launch of its Tesla ride-hailing service. The firm says it is also now automatically adjusting its fleet charging schedule to avoid peak demand times.
Tech Crunch reports that Revel’s superhub is at an old Pfizer manufacturing building in Brooklyn. It has 25 “brand-agnostic” chargers and will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
There are no entrance fees and users just pay for the electricity. Revel say the charge speed will give users 100 miles of energy in under 20 minutes and that all power is from renewable sources.
“It’s no surprise that EV adoption is lagging in our city – the infrastructure just isn’t here yet, and the stations that do exist aren’t accessible to most New Yorkers,” said Revel CEO and co-founder Frank Reig.
“Our superhubs are designed to reach as many people as possible in the neighbourhoods where they actually live.”
Commenting on the facility itself, Reig added: “There’s enough power at this site and we have built this site in a future-proofing sort of way, so that every single charger can be upgraded in the future without having to dig up any infrastructure.
“So if we want to put a 250 or 350 charger in two years from now, three years from now, as cars are able to accept those kinds of speeds, we can do that.”
Revel is also set to make use of Logical Buildings’ GridRewards software to dynamically adjust the charging schedule of its electric moped fleet.
So called ‘peaker plants’ are power plants activated only when there’s high demand. These emit twice as much carbon dioxide per unit of electricity than regular power plants and 20 times as much nitrogen oxides.
Revel is now using GridRewards to shift the timing of its charging sessions to avoid peak usage hours.
“As transportation electrifies, it is imperative that electric mobility companies schedule their charging operations to promote grid resiliency,” commented Logical Buildings’ David Klatt. “Revel is taking necessary steps to ensure it is a leader in intelligent charging operations, paving the way for the smooth electrification and decarbonisation of NYC.”
