UK-based specialist firm to deliver on-street EV chargers in NYC

The project is intended to demonstrate how public access to EV charging can drive up EV ownership amongst the 50 per cent of New York City (NYC) residents who park their cars on the street.

It forms part of the DOT Studio – a collaboration between the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) and Newlab, focused on applying emerging technologies to advance planning, policy, operations and real-time management of transportation across New York City in line with the city’s Vision Zero and sustainability goals.

The findings from the pilot will inform wider EV charging rollouts across New York City, helping to realise its goal of installing 10,000 kerbside chargers by 2030 and electrifying 20 per cent of municipal parking bays by 2025.

Connected Kerb was selected for the project in June 2022 on account of the flexibility of its charger infrastructure, which is often integrated into street furniture such as bollards, as well as the capability to integrate other smart technologies, such as 5G, IoT (Internet of Things) and air quality sensors to demonstrate how EV charging can be integrated with other critical smart infrastructure rollouts required in urban areas.

The power infrastructure of Connected Kerb’s chargers is also installed below ground, offering a longer lifespan by protecting critical infrastructure and enabling the company to add more plug sockets above ground as demand grows in future.

Connected Kerb will now receive funding to install its award-winning EV charging points and the firm is exploring locations at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to deliver a ‘living lab’ that will demonstrate its smart city infrastructure. This will involve using the company’s chargers to showcase how the EV revolution can support the rollout of other cutting-edge public access technology in urban environments. Pilot planning and design is already under way, with the goal of launching some time in autumn of 2022.

Steve Richardson and Nick Dobie, co-founders of Connected Kerb, said in a statement: “There are around two million light duty vehicles in New York City, accounting for 80 per cent of transport emissions. New York City DOT has established ambitious goals to eliminate these emissions by boosting electric vehicle adoption and The DOT Studio project will provide a crucial blueprint for how to deliver world-leading charging infrastructure to support that goal, supercharging EV uptake, cutting emissions and improving public health.

“We’re incredibly excited to be working with New York City’s DOT and Newlab to support the decarbonisation of the City’s transport system. We’re confident that this pilot will not only fast-track New York’s EV charging rollout, but also prove our technology in America and provide a springboard for growth into the future.”

Connected Kerb has selected Charge Infrastructure, a division of Charge Enterprises, as its preferred installation provider for this project. Charge Infrastructure offers end-to-end services for EV charging ecosystems, from project management to installation and maintenance.

EV ownership in New York is rapidly expanding thanks to a greater choice of vehicles and improved technology. In 2021, around 15,000 EVs were registered in the city, with over 5,000 of these sold in 2020 alone. The Biden Administration is targeting 50 per cent of all new vehicle sales to be electric across the US by 2030.

The Newlab pilot project will provide a testbed to solve this challenge by proving that accessible and reliable charging infrastructure can be deployed in some of New York’s most densely populated urban areas, where space is at a premium. It will also show that charging infrastructure can be adapted to local requirements, such as electrical standards and certifications.

The pilot is part of DOT’s ambition to steer the EV charging market before there is enough EV demand for the private sector to take over fully. This will be critical to ensuring that chargers are distributed equitably around the city, rather than concentrated in high-income areas.

Shaina Horowitz, VP of product and programmes at Newlab, said: “Enabling greater EV adoption is critical to achieving New York City’s net zero goals and we are pleased to collaborate with NYC DOT and Connected Kerb through the DOT Studio to help realise the vision for a more sustainable, resilient and equitable city.

“We expect the pilot to provide invaluable data on how to most effectively deploy EV charging infrastructure in densely populated areas and make scalable EV use possible, with potential implications for both NYC and cities around the world.”

In total, three chargepoint providers – Connected Kerb, Char.gy, and Voltpost – are participating and collaborating in the project.