Photo: Rheinmetall
With more electric vehicles in the cities, more people would need a public charger to top up their car’s battery. This is where arms-manufacturer-turned-technology-company Rheinmetall thinks it has a solution.
Most EV owners insist they charge their cars at home, but that is not a solution that anyone can access. People living in large cities or apartment buildings don’t have the luxury of a home charger. Of course, some might argue that an EV is not for everyone, but this is a flawed statement, especially as the car industry should transition to an all-electric future. In less than a decade, most cars on the road will need a charger, so public charging infrastructure will become more important.
In big cities, placing chargers everywhere is not a practical solution. Charging stalls are cumbersome devices, so a better approach must be researched. This is where Rheinmetall offers relief with its curb chargers designed specifically for city centers and dense metropolitan areas. Rheinmetall’s solution proposes integrating the charging electronics into the curb stone, keeping the streets clean and providing a convenient alternative to the charging poles.
Rheinmetall developed this system to minimize any intrusion into the public space associated with the classic charging poles. The problem is considered serious enough in Germany that a team at the Rheinmetall Technology Center has been working intensively on it. Leaving aside the tanks, missiles, and armored vehicles for such a mundane task must’ve been hard, but one should sacrifice for the good of the motherland.
The result is a modular curb charger capable of charging an electric vehicle with 22 kW AC, which can be integrated into existing backend systems and charging system infrastructures via an open charge point protocol (OCPP). Rheinmetall’s solution can be easily integrated with existing streets and parking lots. For this purpose, so-called dummy curbs are installed at the desired charging locations.
The electronic module can be retrofitted as soon as the number of electric vehicles assures adequate demand. Retrofitting and later maintenance can be carried out in a matter of minutes. This simplifies deployment, especially as the system is designed to withstand harsh environmental conditions. The system is currently undergoing comprehensive long-term testing before being installed in the public space as part of a pilot project.
In big cities, placing chargers everywhere is not a practical solution. Charging stalls are cumbersome devices, so a better approach must be researched. This is where Rheinmetall offers relief with its curb chargers designed specifically for city centers and dense metropolitan areas. Rheinmetall’s solution proposes integrating the charging electronics into the curb stone, keeping the streets clean and providing a convenient alternative to the charging poles.
Rheinmetall developed this system to minimize any intrusion into the public space associated with the classic charging poles. The problem is considered serious enough in Germany that a team at the Rheinmetall Technology Center has been working intensively on it. Leaving aside the tanks, missiles, and armored vehicles for such a mundane task must’ve been hard, but one should sacrifice for the good of the motherland.
The result is a modular curb charger capable of charging an electric vehicle with 22 kW AC, which can be integrated into existing backend systems and charging system infrastructures via an open charge point protocol (OCPP). Rheinmetall’s solution can be easily integrated with existing streets and parking lots. For this purpose, so-called dummy curbs are installed at the desired charging locations.
The electronic module can be retrofitted as soon as the number of electric vehicles assures adequate demand. Retrofitting and later maintenance can be carried out in a matter of minutes. This simplifies deployment, especially as the system is designed to withstand harsh environmental conditions. The system is currently undergoing comprehensive long-term testing before being installed in the public space as part of a pilot project.
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