As growing numbers of electric vehicles join fleets, charging is becoming a bottleneck that harms operational efficiency and drives up cost.

Kinetic power boosters can help to reduce charging times and ensure that vehicles spend less time plugged in and more time on the road. By Udi Tzuri, VP product at Zooz Power.

Udi Tzuri, VP product at Zooz Power

Charging an electric vehicle at home is a simple enough process: even if the battery is nearly empty, plugging in to a typical 7kW AC wallbox will replenish the battery overnight, ready for the morning. For those with three-phase supplies and 11kW or 22kW capability, it takes just a few hours. Perfect.

For fleet operators, whether logistics companies or vehicle rental, the situation is more complex. Regardless of the number of EVs on their fleets, it’s essential that these valuable assets are making their contribution to the bottom line, and that means as much time as possible in service and as little time as possible on charge.

At the beginning, when EVs on fleets were few and were added incrementally, AC charging points at depot were sufficient. But in the past few years, as inventory remapped to deliver on net zero targets and account for legislation such as sales bans on new combustion engine vehicles in the UK and Europe, charging is becoming a bottleneck. AC still has its place but it’s just not enough for most applications, and with sales of electric light commercial vehicles increasing by more than 50% worldwide last year, charging strategies must change to keep up.

Even depots that made an early switch to fast charging and might have 50kW DC chargers on site are beginning to struggle as vehicles’ capability to charge at higher power increases. And even those that may have installed 150 or 200kW DC chargers may find that the local grid can’t supply enough power to meet peak demand, resulting in more time at the depot than provisioned for, or leaving on time but with less charge than needed.

Upgrading the grid can solve the problem, but it’s time consuming, very costly, and waiting lists are growing. This is compounded in some countries – the UK for example – because charge points are not prioritised within the planning process, and this will further impact the ability of fleets to charge.

Making up the shortfall with ad-hoc use of public charging isn’t ideal because cost per kWh is considerably higher and availability is uncertain: as well as presenting an operational challenge – minute-by-minute logistics planning is key to fleet profitability – this can also damage drivers’ confidence in EVs at exactly the time when fleet owners need to build it. Fleet operators need a solution that helps them control operational expenses and improve operational efficiency while overcoming constraints imposed by a limited grid.

The Zoozter-100 is a kinetic power booster that can bridge the gap between the growing demand for ultra-fast charging and the constraints imposed by the grid. It features our patented flywheel technology at its core and draws power from the grid at idle times and converts it to kinetic energy by running the flywheel at very high speed – up to 17,000rpm. When an EV is connected to the charger, the stored energy is converted back into power which boosts the grid, so that the EV receives the combined output of both.

This approach enables the charge point to operate at peak capacity. We’ve demonstrated to fleet customers how the Zoozter-100’s rapid power discharge can support efficient, effective 30-minute scheduled charging slots at their busy depots: 20 minutes of actual charging, with a 10-minute buffer in case the vehicle is late arriving or has a lower-than-expected state of charge. This is also ideal for rental fleets as it charging during cleaning and valeting enables a quick turnaround.

The Zoozter-100’s Energy Management System (EMS) also optimises energy use and enhances operational efficiency by managing power flow between the grid, the depot facilities, the Zoozter, and the vehicles by dynamically adjusting distribution based on real-time demand and availability. Installation is simple, it is agnostic to charger type, and the Zoozter-100 is space-efficient too: with a footprint of only 2.4m2 it takes up less than half a car parking space. And while a single Zoozter-100 can support several charge points, this small size also makes it simple to install more than one if required.

Some may consider battery-based solutions as a competition, but batteries suffer from several distinct disadvantages. They can’t discharge power as quickly, and they can’t deliver as many charge/ discharge cycles, so their lifetime is relatively short, whereas the Zoozter-100 is engineered to deliver 200,000 cycles during a 15-year operational life. Some of the toxic and flammable materials within batteries can’t be recycled at end-of-life, whereas our flywheel is manufactured from recyclable steel. In short, our solution is more robust, durable, cost-effective, and sustainable.

Grid upgrades are essential to support the global transition to EVs, and that’s a change we all want to see. But for areas where grid power is not yet enough to deliver the total power consumption needed for charging, we can offer fleet operators an ideal solution that offers the flexibility they need as their business grows. At sites where they may have a few years left on the lease, a grid upgrade isn’t cost-effective of even feasible in the time available, and therefore a Zoozter is ideal because it can simply be redeployed to the new location when the lease expires, helping to reduce capital expenditure.

And at sites where’s there’s plenty of power available now, increased demand over time – driven by more electric vehicles and changes to electric heating sources instead of gas boilers for instance, in the push to reach 2050’s net-zero targets – could make the grid limited in the future, so the Zoozter can be used to boost it again.

As fleet operators worldwide embrace electrification, we work with our customers to map out what they need – and not just for today but in the future as well. And no matter where the discussions begin, it always comes back to power. And that’s what we deliver.