MOVE America conference showcases emerging EV technology
I ventured into the sprawling city of Austin recently to attend the MOVE America tech mobility and startup conference. The event provides a networking opportunity for startups looking to make a splash in the highly competitive field of electric mobility.
Armed with a classic notepad and pen and in search of a better understanding of what’s coming down the silicon grapevine when it comes to electric transportation, I was ready to chew the fat with engineers and PR representatives and pretend I knew the difference between a resistor and a transmitter.
After a full day of shaking hands and asking, “How does it work?” of various professionals, I noticed a clear and defined theme: convenience. Convenience is the new black when talking about electrified mobility. Three companies exhibiting at the event provided a glimpse of what the near future holds and instilled a sense of optimism in the potential of electric vehicles.
With the EV market growing like weeds after a rainstorm, the common issue is figuring out how and where to keep them charged. Several charging station companies were there showcasing their latest Level 1, 2 and 3 chargers.
Briefly, a Level 1 charger is a slower, standard plug-in used for at-home charging. A Level 1 charger can take hours to top off an EV battery that’s been half depleted. Level 2 chargers, which you typically see in public parking lots for EV owners to top off while they go shopping, feed the battery a bit faster but can still take about four hours to charge to 80%. A Level 3, or DC fast charger, can get you to that level in less than an hour. They are the biggest, rivaling the size of gasoline pumps with a more futuristic or authoritarian aesthetic, depending on how to view things.
A charging company called FLO was in Austin, showcasing how it has been addressing the issues with charging on all fronts.
FLO ideology, when it comes to chargers, starts with the basics. Make it work, make it reliable and then focus on making it as convenient as possible. For example, one of the common issues with public chargers is arriving only to find out it’s been vandalized or out of order. FLO has a growing network of public chargers in New York City and employs a crew
whose only job is ensuring all company chargers are in working order.
Natan Yang, FLO’s chief product officer, showed me the design of its latest Level 3 charger. What stands out is the size. These chargers stand 5 feet tall and boast LED lighting, are pre-wired for video and audio surveillance, and provide a mechanism to make lifting the often-heavy charging handle easier. FLO’s market research showed that people felt unsafe charging at night because these massive Level 3 chargers can make it easy for someone to hide behind or lurk in its shadow.
Making chargers shorter makes them appear more welcoming and accessible for maintenance. FLO does not have any chargers in Texas, and when asked what the leading factor in advancing the electric charging infrastructure* here was, the answer, regrettably, lay in the slow grind of bureaucracy at the city, state and national levels.
Another company aiming to make EV ownership easier is Mercedes Pay USA. Late-model Mercedes-Benz vehicles allow customers to create a “me connect” profile. Like using an OEM app, this profile stores personal preferences and settings. Mercedes Pay USA aims to launch a new feature to help drivers find a parking spot and pay for it without ever touching an app on their phones.
Owners can store their banking information in their me-connect profile, making digital purchases, such as paying for parking, a seamless transaction. Moreover, Mercedes Pay USA is PCI certified, meaning it is licensed to collect and secure sensitive material such as credit card information. The product will be added to a long list of standard Mercedes-Benz features.
One of the most eye-opening technologies on display was the WiTricity wireless EV charger. This product functions similarly to a wireless charging pad for your phone. It’s a large pad placed on the ground that activates when an EV drives over it in a parking space. Showcasing the product was a retrofitted Ford Mustang Mach 3 with WiTricity’s resistor. The hope is that this will become a factory option for OEMs to include as a “tech package” for customers.
WiTricity is working with companies to provide wireless charging pads as they switch to electrifying their vehicle fleet. The potential and straightforward delivery of this device is what caught my attention. The resistor is about the size of a medium pizza box. Imagine a near future where an entire row of parking spaces with wireless charging pads allows EVs to park and charge without needing to fuss with cumbersome charging cables.
While on the topic of fleets, CarValoo is an artificial intelligence company aimed at taking the stress out of fleet management. Using a sensor box the size of a wristwatch, CarValoo provides users with real-life 360 data analysis. If a vehicle strays from the routine, meaning if it’s involved in a scenario where the vehicle is damaged, the CarValoo AI sensor instantly records it.
What I like about this service is that it’s not tracking a vehicle’s location. It only records a time stamp when damage is alerted. CarValoo does not hold any information on the driver or vehicle itself. It’s merely a tool to help maintain transparency in fleet management by removing doubt from the equation. This technology is being used in Europe and became available in the United States in 2023.
With companies like these already making headway in the transportation industry, one can only ponder how radically different the urban landscape will look in two to three years, especially in Texas, where progress in electric mobility is more tortoise than hare — unless you live in Austin.