Antwerp will be the first city in Belgium to allow mobile charging installations for electric cars that can be delivered to people's homes. From April, residents will be able to request a mobile charger delivered to their homes.
The City of Antwerp will introduce new regulations to allow mobile installations in the public domain from April. The company that provides the charging points, UZE, has already used its mobile fast chargers for shared electric cars and now will be able to extend its services to private individuals.
"The mobile chargers for private individuals are unique in Belgium, perhaps even in the world," Jochen De Smet, chair of the Belgian federation for electric mobility EV Belgium, told VRT.
A new way of charging
The regulation must still be approved by the Antwerp city council, though this is likely to pass without opposition. "We would rather not see a proliferation of charging stations in our city. That's why we embrace this new way of charging," said Koen Kennis (N-VA), City Councillor for Mobility.
The Antwerp start-up UZE is working on an app that it will soon test with 100 private individuals. "We hope to get fully started in the autumn," said Dieter Schotte of UZE. "From then on, anyone with an electric car can request a charger via our app."
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UZE says there is plenty of demand for their system. Schotte explains the convenience of the service: "You can leave your car in a parking lot in the city and we come there with our cargo bike. You no longer have to look for a parking space with a charging station."
A 40-minute charging session costs about €30, said Schotte. "This makes us slightly more expensive than fast charging along the highway, but of course you don't have to move because we come to the car with our charger."
The company is currently preparing to launch in Brussels though has not yet announced a timeframe for this.
