Electric cars are (still) somewhat unattractive to many car drivers. eeMobility, a startup based in Munich, Germany, offers a complete service that could facilitate the switch from conventional vehicles to cleaner e-mobility options.
Fossil fuel stocks are dwindling and the shift to renewable energy is inevitable. That much is certain. But there’s a lot that still needs to happen, both in Germany and throughout the world, in order to make the definitive switch from coal, gas and oil to clean energies. The transport sector, as an example, offers an incredible amount of unexplored potential,
While electric cars offer the possibility to efficiently use renewable energies like solar, wind and hydrothermal, only a small number of these types of vehicles are currently found on German roads. The German government has set itself an ambitious target of getting one million electric cars on the road by 2020, but there is still quite a way to go before this goal will be met. According to the European car industry union Acea, only a tiny 0.6 per cent of cars registered in the EU are electric. Electric car costs have also not changed, something which could perhaps make purchasing these vehicles more attractive to a wider range of people.
Compared to Germany, in other European countries electric cars have experienced much better adoption rates. One of the main reasons so few people drive electric in Germany is that (famously) there is no speed limit on local motorways, meaning German drivers are used to being able to really put the pedal to the metal. But when driving at speeds over 130 km/h in an electric car, batteries drain quickly. Even though the second generation of electric cars and their batteries have already improved significantly upon the first, they cannot keep up with a diesel or petrol car (yet) in terms of range.
The At-Home Electric Car Charging Station
For short trips within a city, an electric car is usually more than sufficient. Nonetheless, one of the biggest questions remains: where can you “fill up” (or in this case, charge) your car when you need to? In Germany, and other countries too, public charging station infrastructure still leaves a lot to be desired.
This is where eeMobility comes in. The Munich-based startup – “ee” stands for easy.electric – is looking to make the move towards e-mobility easier, both for companies and private individuals. Sign up to their service and eeMobility provides you with a wallbox, suitable for any kind of electric vehicle, that can be used to charge the vehicle in the comfort of your own home. The charging process is then carried out quickly and safely – and using 100 per cent green electricity. This so-called Smart Charging Function is one of the most unique aspects of the system: the vehicle is, where possible, charged whenever power surpluses are detected in the grid, which is usually at night.
eeMobility was founded in 2015 and offers a monthly flat rate for its service, which also includes installation, maintenance and billing. And in addition to all that, the company also offers an app that provides its customers access to 3,000 public charging stations across Europe.
Although the continued development of charging station infrastructure is vital to boost the appeal of electric vehicles, this initiative from eeMobility is certainly a step in the right direction.
Translated from this article by Lydia Skrabania, which originally appeared on our German platform.
