Image Credits: Mego Mobility
Oostzaan, Netherlands-based Mego Mobility, a multimodal B2B micromobility fleet operator, announced on Tuesday 4 October that it has developed Swell Electric, a contactless and wireless charging system for light electric vehicles.
The Dutch company will exhibit its charging system at the “World of eMobility” at Expo Haarlemmermeer from October 27-29.
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Terence Carter, the founder of Mego Mobility, developed the Swell Electric charging solution during the Mobility Lab 2021 startup program in collaboration with electrical engineers at TU Delft.
Mobility Lab is a startup program that helps commercialize and scale innovative prototypes in the field of mobility,
The charging system can charge vehicles wirelessly and without contact, up to a distance of 10 cm, once the user parks the vehicle on the charger. The company states that the power requirement is 1 kilowatt.
The Swell Electric solution can charge Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs) with different power requirements, from cargo bikes to mopeds.
How does it work?
Once parked, the transmitter on the charger recognizes the vehicle and adjusts the power required. The energy generated by an electromagnetic field (induction) is transferred to a coil attached to the underside of the vehicle. The energy is then converted into the appropriate form for the corresponding vehicle/battery.
The user can follow the charging progress through two LED strips on the front of the charger. Charging stops automatically when the battery is full or the vehicle is moving.
In this first phase, Mego Mobility is working with the Chinese electric scooter company Niu.
Terence Carter says: “This scooter is widely used in shared systems. Unfortunately, there is no wireless charging solution yet for this scooter and currently fleet operators have to change batteries all the time. It is an expensive part of operating costs. Therefore, Swell Electric presents opportunities for partial mobility providers and package delivery services that are currently transitioning from vans to a mix of LEVs for city center delivery. That is why we are now looking for parties who want to test the charger as a pilot and thus contribute to the transition to light electric transport. We are also looking for investors who want to contribute to the financing of this transition.”
In the next phase, the company plans to test and optimize the step-by-step charger for other vehicles, starting with the Birò, a four-wheel electric microcar.
Mego Mobility: What you need to know
Mego Mobility operates the Klushub carpooling concept, an exchange system consisting of transfer locations around the city called Klushubs.
Construction, maintenance and installation professionals can safely park their vehicles at Klushubs and rent an electric scooter, cargo bike or microcar for part of the day. This allows them to quickly drive to the city center without traffic jams or parking problems.
Klushubs are currently operational in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
Watch our interview with Paul Down, Head of Sales for Intigriti.