New York based startup Gravity has launched a new type of curb-side EV charger they’re calling a “charging tree”. The charger is rated to 500 kW and the company says it plans on growing its network bigger than Tesla which currently has over 25,000 charge points across the US.
In October last year, the company made headlines when it released a range of 500kW chargers, no bigger that a conventional AC charger, enabling them to be placed in multi-bay underground car parks where space is tight.
Since then Google Ventures has provided seed funding to the company enabling Gravity to roll out dozens of the chargers including a 24 by 500 kW facility called “Gravity Charging Centre” which was opened in March.
The charging centre claims to have the fastest passenger car charging points in the US and has cables hanging from the roof to save space beside cars.
Gravity launches roadside “Charging Trees”
Last week the company shared its latest charger design for street charging. Gravity’s “Charging Trees” come as 200kW and 500kW distributed access points as part of an on-street system.
The charging cable is attached to a hinged overhead mounting arm which lifts up out of the way when not in use making it an ideal solution for street side applications.
“Right now, American cities are choosing the curbside charging that drivers will use for decades to come. Unfortunately, many are looking to obsolete overnight Level 2 charging with cables that clutter sidewalks and that don’t fit the needs of urban EV drivers.” said Moshe Cohen, Founder and CEO of Gravity.
“EV drivers require and deserve so much better. We took up the challenge of making every aspect of the on-street charging experience faster and better and can’t wait to deploy our new DEAP Trees by the thousands.
“With even partial adoption by American cities, this product alone could quickly become the largest fast charging network in America, eclipsing even the Supercharger network.”
In addition to high-speed curb-side charging, Gravity’s charging trees are also bidirectional ready which Gravity says provide for a host of grid resiliency benefits and new revenue streams for cities.
Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.