NimBee aims to remove the hassle from EV charging
Added: (Tue Feb 15 2022)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Nimbee recently finished its mobile charging service pilot operation in Prague, Czech Republic, and is looking to expand to western Europe. The NimBee solution is unique with its approach of removing most of the hassle from the charging experience. It is achieved by bringing the NimBee mobile charging unit to the user while the EV is parked virtually anywhere in the urban area. The pilot took place during the fall of 2021, and the main aim was to gather data on EV usage and validate technological feasibility and user adoption. During the three months of operation, Nimbee charged almost 1.8 MWh, which roughly translates to a range of 10,000 km. An average charging session brought about 24 kWh to the end-user, so the range is approximately 150 km for most charged electric cars.
Three versions of the mobile battery prototype were included in the pilot operation. Thanks to fast iterations in both the software and hardware sections of the project, it was possible to optimize most operational processes and collect the necessary operational data.
Ecological impact of pilot operation
Thanks to better charging infrastructure, electromobility is also becoming more and more affordable. NimBee also contributes to a better user charging experience. If Nimbee users used conventional diesel vehicles, 3 tons of CO2e would be generated. The aim of the Nimbee operation is, therefore, to prevent further unnecessary pollution by expanding the possibilities of charging electric cars. The service is aimed mainly at those users who do not have the opportunity to charge their vehicles at home and at the same time lack publicly available infrastructure in city centers.
"I am glad that our team managed to go so far in such a short time. From a technical point of view, we came across only a few problems that we managed to solve immediately. We are compatible with 95% of the electric cars you can meet on the streets. But most importantly, we have confirmed that the service will find its customers and has huge potential in the future. "says Mirek Zapletal, Head of Product Nimbee. "We have successfully passed the first operational test, and now it is necessary to launch Nimbee into Europe and thus make electromobility accessible to everyone," adds founder Jan Šamal.
Software optimization is vital for a good user experience
Because the NimBee service is made up of software and hardware, it is necessary to develop not only a mobile battery unit but also a platform that manages the entire NimBee ecosystem. Thanks to the deeper integration of advanced logistics methods and machine learning in combination with already obtained operational data, the application will evaluate the load of individual mobile charging stations and service vehicles in real-time. In this way, there will be a constant optimization of traffic according to the specifics of individual cities. Further development will also take place in cooperation with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) in the EIT Urban Mobility project in collaboration with technology giants such as Siemens, Altran / Capgemini Engineering, universities in Žilina, Braunschweig, CTU in Prague, and European cities - Braunschweig, Helmond, and Žilina.
Further deployment of the service
In 2022, it is planned to take several major steps in the expansion to other markets. By the end of the year, the ambition is to operate the Nimbee platform commercially in 3 European cities. This will require several dozen mobile charging units and a fleet of about twenty electric cars to operate them. The goal for the whole year is to prevent the occurrence of 100 tons of CO2e emissions, thanks to facilitating the electrification of company fleets and their charging from renewable sources.