New York City: New urban technology is making it possible for people to charge up electric vehicles easily from lampposts. Technology supplied by Ubitricity, which will be tested further in New York City, allows lampposts to be transformed with outlets into electric vehicle charging points that users can connect to with personally-owned smart charging cables that have built-in meters. This technology has the potential to enable the City to deploy curbside vehicle charging more quickly, with lower cost, and with less street clutter than other approaches.
New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, in partnership with NYC Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, NYC’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and NYC’s Department of Transportation announced August 13 that Ubitricity was the winner of the NYCx Climate Action Challenge. The challenge, announced in late 2017 and the first-of-its kind, called on the tech industry to develop solutions for scaling electric vehicle charging infrastructure and accelerating the use of EVs citywide.
Ubitricity’s retrofit technology is being used in Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. Prior to the NYCx Climate Action Challenge, the technology had not been showcased in the United States. If a pilot program is successful, the Department of Transportation and Department of Citywide Administrative Services will explore a possible near-term, multi-year demonstration project that could include chargers in light poles and new cordless, stand-alone charging points.