Can off-grid charging transform the geography of cities?

Much of the contemporary landscape, be it urban or not, is shaped by mobility, specifically mobility on wheels, dependent as it is on a few fixed elements: the road, undoubtedly, but gas stations, immovable symbols of the modern in particular, from whose immovability one cannot disregard, wishing not to run out of gas before reaching them. 
Still, are we sure this is a landscape destined for eternity, even in times of transition to electric mobility? The question is more open than ever, and this is what we once again asked ourselves at the presentation of the latest project by E-gap. The Rome-based company is already active in providing mobile alternatives to dependence on fixed electrical outlets, with on-demand charging services, carried out through zero-emission vans or portable systems (trolleys) with integrated batteries; recently, it has started an upscaling experiment by bringing to market E-gap Fast, an ultrafast charging station capable of operating off-grid.

This mobile service station is based on a 200 kWh battery with a smart charging system that enables it to deliver, without drawing from the grid, up to 230 kW of peak power distributed over seven charging points; its operation is designed to generally combine fast charging, with a maximum charging power of 120kW (which can also be distributed over two vehicles with a power of 60kW each) and slow charging, with up to five 22 kW charging columns. This technological core developed by E-gap Engineering is combined with its functional distribution in space and its interface, designed by Pininfarina: the world-famous design firm has shaped the user experience, with the placement of two long-cable charging connections with a charging state monitoring interface, and transformed two sides of the station into LED screens, for user interaction and projection of videos and images.

We spoke with Eugenio de Blasio, founder and president of E-gap, about the possibility of rewriting the geographies of contemporary cities through similar projects: “It is a project that reaches out and meets a changing world, the idea of not necessarily having to be in a big city to have services” he told us, providing the example of delivery for events in suburban areas, or settlements that are far from cities. On the topic, the prospect of developing partnerships with city administrations must always go through the complexity of all necessary interlocutions, he added, keeping in mind that “both Fast and Delivery Fast (delivery via van, ed.) for example can be solutions to suitably electrify the country in view of PNRR (National Plan for Recovery and Resilience) goals. There are 8.000 municipalities in Italy, E-gap could produce 8.000 of these devices in 6 months. We undoubtedly need to raise awareness within a market dominated by big players”.