First Mobile Electric Vehicle Charging Station Debuts

SAN DIEGO — As electrical vehicles continue to grow, Envision Solar International Inc., a sustainable infrastructure product designer and developer based in San Diego, launched the world’s first fully mobile, autonomous and renewable electric vehicle charging station earlier this month.

The EV ARC is a standalone solar charging station that requires no foundation, trenching, building permit or grid connection. It is designed to fit one standard parking space and does not reduce available parking because vehicles park on its ballasted pad. It offers charging 24 hours a day via the use of on-board battery storage. Plus, it is delivered ready to operate without requiring someone to install it.

The charging station generates approximately 16 kilowatt hours per day that are stored and ready for use in the 22 kilowatt-per-hour, on-board battery storage. The system’s clean solar electrical generation is greater because of EnvisionTrak, which allows the solar array to follow the sun, generating 18 percent to 25 percent more electricity than a conventional fixed array.

The production of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) continued to increase this year because of the rise in developments in the market for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). According to the Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment report from Pike Research, a part of Navigant’s Energy Practice, the EVSE market is expected to expand steadily as well. Unit sales of EVSE will rise from under 200,000 in 2012 to 3.8 million in 2020. According to the Pike Research study, 11.4 million EV charging stations will be in operation worldwide by 2020.

“The EVSE industry is still grappling with the best way to create a viable return on investment on EVSE station deployments for site hosts – an issue that will move front and center as publicly funded EVSE deployments wind down,” said Navigant’s Senior Research Analyst Lisa Jerram in a statement. “At the moment, there are too many players chasing this market, and this industry is likely to see some consolidation over the next year. Companies that can weather this shakeout period, however, are likely to enjoy growing demand as the market expands.”