Though ebike battery fires are relatively rare, they can cause serious damage to property and riders alike. Beam Global is looking to take charging outdoors with a 12-ebike, grid-independent charging hub that's powered by solar and batteries.
San Diego's Beam Global started life as Envision Solar in 2006, which was set up to design, manufacture and deploy solar-powered EV chargers. Its main product at the moment is called the EV Arc – a grid-independent, PV-topped electric car charging point that can be transported to a location by truck and installed without needing to worry about digging trenches and laying cables.
The latest version sports a 4.4-kW solar array and up to 40 kWh of integrated battery storage. Each charging station can support up to six charge points, and thousands of EV Arcs have been deployed in the US over the last few years – with the City of New York, Google and the US Army among the company's high-profile clients.
Now Beam Global is looking to bring a similar solution to ebikers with the launch of the BeamBike.
"Repeated requests from some of our best customers, and the rare but high-profile tragedies of indoor fires caused by ebikes, inspired us to develop an outdoor ebike charging solution that can be deployed quickly, relocated when needed and operated independently of the grid," said company CEO, Desmond Wheatley.
"A BeamBike charging system can go just about anywhere an ebike can go and it’s based upon our tried and tested EV ARC platform so customers rest assured of its quality and efficacy. We have fourteen years of operational experience with the EV ARC product platform. Creating the BeamBike product from EV ARC is part of our strategy to create valuable solutions for larger and broader customer audiences."
Like the EV Arc, the new charge station will sport a 4.4-kW solar array measuring 20.7 x 10.7 ft (6.3 x 3.3 m) and will come with 20-, 30- or 40-kWh battery storage. Its base footprint will be 18 x 7.5 ft (5.5 x 2.3 m), and it's designed to accommodate up to 12 ebikes at once. An ebike can be locked at each dock, which has a weather-protected 120-V outlet available for plugging in.
Benefits to riders include the possibility of cheap (or even free) top-ups, being able to park up and secure the bike while charging and then go off shopping or for lunch nearby, and any risks to buildings or people from battery fires while plugged in are substantially reduced.
The ebike charging stations are expected to roll out to transport hubs, parks, shopping malls, campuses, business parks and so on, and as the solution doesn't need connecting to the grid, it can also be deployed at one-off events – with delivery to and from the site undertaken by truck.
Pricing for operators has not been revealed as yet, but Beam Global recently introduced a One-Pay Lease program for the EV Arc to lower the cost of entry – and this model could be extended to the BeamBike solution, though there's no mention of that in the press materials.
Source: Beam Global
