Suburban dwellers can easily install EV chargers in their garages or driveways, but for millions of apartment-dwellers who rely on street parking, the problem of charging is a major obstacle to buying an EV. In London, 78% of households have no private parking spaces.

A startup called char.gy has a possible solution: installing chargers in lamp posts. Earlier this year, the company installed some of its open-access charge points in Marlow, near London. Now Transport for London (TfL) has added char.gy’s lamppost-based charging system to its EV Charging Infrastructure Procurement Framework, a system that connects equipment suppliers with local borough governments. The new framework aims to install 1,150 on-street EV charge points across London by the end of 2020.

Through the framework, char.gy offers local councils access to an online portal that allows them to monitor the charging units and perform remote software upgrades. The char.gy smart charging units are designed to fit almost all lamp posts, and provide up to 7.7 kW of power. Users can choose either a pay-as-you-go or a monthly subscription-based pricing plan.

“We see this as a big step in reducing vehicle emissions across London, a very important step in the government’s Road to Zero strategy,” said Richard Stobart, CEO of char.gy. “Our easy-to-install charging units provide a cost-effective EV charging infrastructure for councils using 700,000 lamp posts across the capital. As well as being financially advantageous to the councils, our charging service is also reasonably priced for their residents.”

Residents who would like a charging unit in their neighborhoods can contact char.gy at http://www.char.gy.

Source: char.gy