New York-based startup Gravity Technologies recently introduced its innovative high-powered electric curbside “trees” for urban streets. According to AXIOS, these chargers can charge an electric vehicle in just five minutes.
DEAP Trees promise fast charging times
Gravity presented a visionary solution for the lack of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in urban areas: its new “DEAP Trees” specifically designed for curbside charging.
This new charging solution is a “new universal on-street mounting and cable system” with 200kW and 500kW Distributed Energy Access Points (DEAPs).
Remarkably, these are very fast chargers. It does not require any utility upgrades to offer high-speed curbside charging for electric vehicles. It delivers 200 miles of driving range in just 13 minutes with the 200kW DEAPs. It further drops to 5 minutes with the use of the 500kW output.
In effect, DEAP Trees can support multiple charging sessions per space every hour.
“This is orders of magnitude faster than the 8-10 hours required for Level 2 curbside chargers, like those currently deployed in cities like New York through early pilot programs and several times the capacity of Tesla’s common 72kW or 150kW Superchargers.”
Gravity Technologies
Innovative design
Gravity engineers demonstrated a very interesting concept for the DEAP Trees.
The design ensures organized cable management by keeping it out of the paths of pedestrians and bicyclists, significantly improving safety in the area. It also diminishes clutter associated with urban charging stations.
Gravity engineers teamed up with globally renowned design company Rangr Studio to develop a solution for all the current issues with curbside charging.
The DEAP Tree features a swing arm holding a cable that rotates down when charging begins to reach the charging port of any electric vehicle model. After the charging session, it automatically raises and shuts back onto the pole and out of sight.
EV drivers can operate the DEAP Tree with only minimal effort with such a design. It also cuts the need for a user-supplied cable, which helps to avoid tripping hazards, accessibility barriers, and potential vandalism.
Solving urban EV infrastructure issues
With all that said, Gravity’s revolutionary DEAP Trees can help solve most of the challenges in urban electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
These chargers are specifically designed for curbside installation, enabling them to use already existing infrastructure like sidewalks. In effect, they help expand charging alternatives in dense locations where EV charging stations might be limited.
They also sport a vertical design that significantly diminishes clutter on sidewalks and enables more efficient use of limited space in cities.
DEAP Trees are indeed a promising solution for urban electric vehicle charging, offering more accessible, space-saving, and faster charging options.
