itselectric, a Brooklyn-based electric vehicle curbside charging company, today announced a strategic partnership with Hyundai CRADLE and New York City Economic Development Corporation to demonstrate curbside EV charging specifically built for cities. The EV chargers will be the first compact, durable, and user-friendly charge post featuring a fully detachable charging cord in North America – making it suitable and ideal for urban city use.
itselectric is the only charging network that offers revenue sharing for residential property owners. This model enables property owners to be part of the EV transition through positive incentives that will help make this solution easier to adopt in markets around the country. The pilot program will be itselectric’s largest public demonstration of its charging network, which is designed to help cities meet their carbon reduction targets and reduce capital expenditure by completely avoiding the infrastructure upgrades normally needed to support on-street charging. This technology brings EV charging to new urban neighborhoods, which enables more people to make the switch to electric vehicles and aligns with Hyundai’s objective of democratizing electric vehicle technology.
The pilot is a result of itselectric being named as a finalist in Hyundai CRADLE’s EV Open Innovation Challenge. Finalists were selected based on their potential to expand market access to electric vehicles and improve customer charging experiences using innovative technology and business models as evaluated by Hyundai CRADLE with support from Hyundai Motor North America.
“The team at Hyundai has been incredibly supportive and we could not have envisioned a better place than Brooklyn, where it all began, to put our first chargers into the ground,” said Nathan King, CEO & Co-Founder of itselectric. “The United States has high goals for electric vehicle adoption, but the country is not currently prepared for what this means in terms of accessible charging. Our technology is specifically built for cities to ensure that every community – no matter the median income or prevalence of driveways and garages – has access to clean transportation.”
This initial limited pilot program will see six charging posts deployed across 2 locations: The Brooklyn Army Terminal and Steiner Studios starting in spring 2023. For two months, all six charging posts will be user-tested by publicly recruited EV drivers local to the area, allowing drivers to validate and inform a for-market product. All six posts will remain operational for an additional four months following the initial pilot.
“Hyundai CRADLE Silicon Valley is excited to be launching this pilot program in collaboration with HMNA and itselectric,” said Henry Chung, Senior Vice President, Head of Hyundai CRADLE Silicon Valley. “Curbside charging is an important part of the EV charging ecosystem that can provide access for those who rely on public charging, and we look forward to exploring this opportunity.”
“Expanding access to EV charging and accelerating the transition to zero-emission vehicles for everyone, regardless of the kind of home or neighborhood in which they live is part of our mission, ‘progress for humanity,” added Olabisi Boyle, vice president, product planning and mobility strategy, Hyundai Motor North America. “itselectric’s modular AC charging solution brings low-cost, revenue-generating infrastructure to traditionally underserved urban communities around the country. Hyundai is dedicated to a greener future and our partnership with itselectric will help us achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.”
“NYCEDC is excited to welcome itselectric to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to pilot their state-of-the-art curbside electric vehicle chargers,” said NYCEDC President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “Promoting and expanding access to EV charging infrastructure is the key to encouraging New Yorkers to invest in electric vehicles and creating a cleaner, more sustainable future for New York City.”
“We’re thrilled to bring itselectric charging stations to Steiner Studios,” said Doug Steiner, Chairman, Steiner Studios. “We, and our film and television production clients, want to do our part for a greener future. It’s an honor to kick off these efforts by collaborating with itselectric, Hyundai, and NYCEDC.”
To learn more about itselectric and join its waitlist as a property owner, EV driver, or aspiring EV driver, please visit itselectric.us.