Juice Technology powers ahead with portable electric vehicle chargers

Juice Technology is looking to expand its UK business after strong fleet interest in its innovative electric vehicle charging solutions.

The company, which launched in the UK last year, offers a range of portable charging products.

Its current flagship model is the Booster 2 and aluminium-cased cylindrical product – which is 22.5cm long, has a diameter of 7cm and weighs 1kg (4.1kg with 3m cable and plug) – works by being connected to the available electricity socket using the correct safety adapter and then into the vehicle’s Type 2 charging socket.

When plugged into a three-pin plug it will deliver a charging speed of 3kW, 7.4kW from a single-phase connector, and then up to 22kW when used with a three-phase 32-amp electricity supply.

Fleet customers already include Morgan Sindall and Speedy Hire, says Andrew Oakes, UK & Ireland director at Juice Technology, at Juice Technology,

“The fleet industry is one of our main targets because we really see the benefit of our product working within fleets, and fleet manager feedback has so far been really complimentary,” he adds.

He says the versatility of Booster 2 means fleets can use it as a “charge anywhere” product. “It can be a home charger, workplace charger or an on-the-go charger as well,” he adds.

“With this product you buy one charger and you don’t need to put in fixed chargers or wall boxes because this is the wall box.

“The nice thing about this is that when you give somebody a vehicle, you can give them the charger as well and say ‘this is your home and work charger’.

“If that employee then leaves the business, they just return the charger with the vehicle.

“It also means the charger becomes part of the vehicle as it can be moved about with it, so it stays with it if it has, for example, multiple drivers or if it is reallocated to another employee.”

Oakes says particular interest has been shown in the product by van fleets which work in sectors such as the construction, facilities management and utilities industries.

“Some of our fleet customers are in those sectors and it’s a major cost saving for them,” he adds.

These often have access to commando electricity sockets which have a higher power output than domestic sockets as they are used to power machinery, and this equates to faster charge rates.

“The product is also a ruggedised design so it is designed to be in harsh environments: you can drive over it or submerge it in water and it will be ok.

“If they’re, say, used on a building site all day, that’s fine and then they can be put in their bag, taken away and used as a home charger later.”

Oakes says the potential of the product within the fleet market was demonstrated by the high level of interest it received while exhibiting at the recent Fleet & Mobility Live event at Birmingham’s NEC.

“We think our product really fits into the transition to EVs because instead of installing fixed infrastructure, maybe at high cost and complexity, this is just a simple product,” he adds.

“The driver doesn’t need to do anything; there’s no menu, there’s no set-up, they just plug it in and it works.”

Oakes says Juice will launch Booster 3 in the UK next year, and this will offer a number of connected features: it will be wi-fi and Bluetooth enabled and will allow users to download energy receipts if needed.

“We’re planning to continue to expand in the UK, which means the team, the product range and the offers we have."