Solar e-Bike charging station opened

The opening was the first part of three events connected with sustainable electrical transport. After the opening, speakers debated the role of e-bikes as an alternative to cars in commuting traffic. And Professor Pavol Bauer of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EWI) held his inaugural speech in the Aula titled ‘How direct will the future electricity be?’

The charging station next to the EWI tower has eight solar panels with a total peak power of 2.3 kilowatts, and it features a ten kWh storage unit for cloudy days. During the summer, the station will be delivering excess power to the grid.

A telling detail: at the same spot, before the construction of the Mekel park, there used to be a Shell gas station.

The solar charging station has connections for four e-bikes with three different connections: 48 volt DC, 230 volt AC or a wireless connection through the e-bike’s kick stand which functions as an antenna.

In his talk afterward, Bauer said he expected future solar charging stations to become integrated into the built environment and to be preferably wireless. Contactless systems require less maintenance, and integrated systems make use of existing structures which saves space in the cities.

The charging station was designed by a student from the Faculty of Industrial Design and Engineering. The EWI faculty initiated and commissioned the project in collaboration with the interfaculty research institute DIMI (Delta, Infrastructures & Mobility Initiative).