Resembling a fueling station, VersiCharge XL—a new electric vehicle (EV) charging concept structure—can charge large numbers of EVs in outdoor areas ranging from small office building parking lots to last-mile logistics hubs to stadium parking lots.
The developers—Siemens Smart Infrastructure, which creates intelligent and adaptive infrastructure, and Nexii Building Solutions, a green construction technology company—say the modular, scalable solution is the industry’s first EV-charging system housing all the necessary electrical infrastructure components in an above-ground, enclosed, and low-carbon structure. The above-ground design minimizes disruption to existing parking lots, while also reducing on-site construction waste and environmental impact.
Rapidly developed in just six months last year, the innovative product was installed in only three days’ time in February at Siemens’ research and development hub for electrical products and e-mobility solutions in Peachtree Corners, Ga.
“The massive growth of electric mobility requires an easy and rapid expansion of a reliable and sustainable charging infrastructure. This specific concept shows how Siemens and its partners are working on new, innovative ideas to help support this growth in the US market,” Markus Mildner, CEO of eMobility at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, says in a statement.
The prototype uses Nexii’s building material Nexiite, which has similar properties as concrete but with significantly less embodied carbon, for the vertical structure supporting the Siemens Sentron Busway systems that power the EV chargers. The co-patented design combines Nexii’s sustainable building products and rapid delivery of green buildings with Siemens’ expertise in residential and commercial chargers, charging depots for commercial fleets, and infrastructure systems to power electrified bus lines.
“Construction and transportation are two of the biggest sources of carbon emissions driving climate change today,” Stephen Sidwell, cofounder and CEO of Nexii, says in a statement. “Bringing together Siemens and Nexii demonstrates the power of rapid ideation and development of solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems.”
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