Forget charging at a station – what if the charger came to you?

SparkCharge, a US-based startup, are answering the question often asked by EV owners: What if I didn’t have to go to a station to charge? What if the station came to me? In partnership with Atlas Towing, SparkCharge are offering roadside assistance to stranded EV owners by charging their vehicles up fully using a mobile unit, saving much hassle and time given their electric vehicle will no longer have to be towed to a charging station.

Ahead of a full scale launch, SparkCharge are currently offering pilot programs in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Using a 17.5-kilowatt-hour unit, they claim their kit can add 1 mile of range per minute. Initially SparkCharge want their business model to be a service, but long-term there’s definitely potential for private sales – in a nutshell the electric equivalent of a full jerrycan of fuel could be stored by owners in case of emergency, or even just for longer trips with no chargers on route. Interesting stuff, we’ll be sure to follow their next steps closely…