Charge Amps launches charging cable with wi-fi

 (text Fredrik Sandberg för Swedish magazine Elbilen)

The Swedish company Charge Amps has earned a name among EV- drivers with their type1 cable with adjustable current (and without the 'lump' on the cable). It allows for loading from the heater setting down load to 6A, so as not to risk the blowing of fuses, but even up to 16A for charging of electric vehicles intended contact. Now they are offering a MODE3 type2 cable for European electric cars, with the same finesse. But also some news.

- There has been some debate about that you should not charge from Schuko (wall adapter), since according to some it is a security risk. Therefore, our new cable Ray has a temperature sensor built in, as the development of heat lowers the amperage to the right level, says Anna Fägersten, Nordic Manager at Charge-Amps when I met her and CEO Charlotte Eisner, in their office in Stockholm.

Charge Amps is a successful company. They are now available in over 20 countries, and have signed agreements with several auto companies and taken in an investor OK Economic Association, which purchased ten percent of the company.

- It means that we will be able to complete the entire product portfolio, says Anna Fägersten,in addition, they have established a collaboration with designer Joachim Nordwall, who was previously affiliated with Koenigsegg along with other projects. It is he who has designed the new cable.

- We are proud of the design, which we think radiates what we stand for; smarter, better looking and more user-friendly products. For example, the plug in to the car no longer looks like a gas pump handle, but has an ergonomic grip that even people with weak hands can use,explains Charlotte Eisner.

Especially for type 2 the standard is higher safety. It requires forward a control box placed maximum 15 cm from the wall. With Ray, they have solved such demands, they claim.

- The standard requires a heavy box, but we have managed to make it very small, the size of a sausage, says Anna Fägersten.

Another feature of the Ray is that the cable can connect to a WiFi network.

- The potential is endless when it comes, for example to charging information and billing.

The possibilities with this are endless and that seems to be what drives Charge Amps. Eisner and Fägersten have already outlined launch plans up until 2018. I asked them if they have a solution to the problem that signed and most EV drivers have: harness in the trunk, which is to have a cable for every possible contact you encounter.

- The question mark is almost an exclamation, says Anna Fägersten, without wanting to reveal more.