ZiGGY may be cute, but if your electric vehicle is out of juice, you may see him as more of a godsend.
As part of a summer-long demonstration of EV charging technology at DFW Airport, LA-based EV Safe Charge has brought its mobile electric vehicle charging stations—rolling robots named ZiGGY—to do their thing this week at the airport.
The EV charging demonstrations are being offered at various customer parking lots across the airport, hosted by DFW’s Innovation and Planning teams in partnership with consultant STV.
ZiGGY uses geofencing technology, app-based controls, and on-board cameras to roll right up to your parked EV, where the charging bot can be connected to your vehicle. To showcase its ability to generate additional revenue, each ZiGGY comes with two large video screens that can play advertisements while it churns out kilowatts.
“Finding the right technology solutions to meet DFW’s future challenges is a major focus for our team,” DFW EVP of Innovation Paul Puopolo said in a statement in May. “We know that electric vehicles will be a big part of the future of transportation, and we’re leaning into emerging technology now so that we are prepared to meet the needs of the airport community well into the future.”
Going big later this month at DFW Airport
The Lightning Mobile DC Fast Charger can charge up to five electric vehicles at a time. [Photo: Lightning eMotors]
Later this month, from June 19 to June 23, a somewhat bigger mobile EV charging solution will be demonstrated: the next-generation Lightning Mobile DC Fast Charger (above) from Loveland, Colorado-based Lightning eMotors.
Lightning Mobile will provide mobile charging capabilities for DFW airport staff and customers in a variety of locations and settings, the company said, including the airport’s cellphone lot, valet parking lot, Uber/Lyft lot, DFW headquarters, and an employee parking lot.
“Our next-generation Lightning Mobile chargers address the growing need for readily available, flexible DC fast-charging solutions, especially during this important transitional period when charging infrastructure is still lacking,” Lightning eMotors CEO Tim Reeser said in a statement. “DFW is at the forefront of electrifying ground transportation, and we look forward to solving a major pain point that they, along with most airports across the country, are currently facing.”
The Lightning Mobile charging unit offers from 105 to 420 kWh battery capacity, providing standard, low-cost Level 2 AC charging, as well as flexible DC fast-charging capabilities for vehicles requiring short turnaround times.
Each modular unit can charge up to five electric vehicles, featuring active thermal management for optimum battery performance and longevity along with “sophisticated telematics/analytics to optimize overall fleet operations and vehicle safety.”
Once the testing period is completed, Lightning Mobile said, the data collected will allow DFW Airport “to determine how many vehicles will be accessing the charger and how much energy they are drawing, ultimately helping to decide the best use-case scenarios for meeting traveler demand for EV charging at the airport.”
Later this summer, EV charging demonstrations at DFW Airport will feature “spot reservation & on-call service” the week of July 17 and “wireless charging” demos starting August 1.
If you’re interested in signing up to participate in one of the tech demos, you can get more info by going here.
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A series of five EV charging demonstrations will be offered from May through August at various customer parking lots across DFW Airport, hosted by the airport’s Innovation and Planning teams in partnership with consultant STV. The demos will offer the chance to test next-gen EV charging solutions—such as autonomous robotic wireless charging, on-demand charging, and apps that enable charging control from anywhere on earth.
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