Technology

Posted on July 25, 2019 by staff

Car charging firm Franklin Energy secures £1.7m gov funding

Technology

Car charging firm Franklin Energy has secured #1.7m in government funding from the Department for Transport.

The company, which provides electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions for home, commercial and public environments, has a network of car charging points located across the UK, through its ‘LiFe’ network.

The Liverpool firm’s clients include the NHS, QPark, and Uber.

The firm is the only charging provider under the Innovate UK programme and will deliver ‘smart’ on-street charging in cities throughout the UK.

The new fast EV charging system, EnSmartEV, has been developed under a partnership with Entrust Microgrid, the project lead, based at the University of Lancaster.

Through the scheme, the firm will trial the technology across two sites in Merseyside through Halton Borough Council.

This will see two EnSmartEV charging hubs introduced into the local area to give local residents improved access to EV charging as well as support the town centre in having publicly accessible EV charging points.

“In order to meet government targets and roll out the drive towards EV ownership, we must have the infrastructure in place that meets the needs of modern life. This technology will provide highly efficient, incredibly low-cost charging solutions.”

“This project will demonstrate what a huge difference efficient charging will have on existing EV drivers whilst encouraging others to make the shift to electric when weighing up options and viability.

“It’s great to be part of this pioneering scheme, and selected as the technology provider of choice, that will undoubtedly set a precedent for the EV UK movement.”

Xiongwei Liu, founder of Entrust Smart Home Microgrid Limited and the EnSmartEV charging technology system, called the technology a game changer.

“Whilst using battery storage to charge EV’s is nothing new, we are able to maximize the use of DC to DC technology which leads to ultra-high efficiency and very little corresponding power losses that are inherent in current systems.

“We are grateful to Innovate UK for the funding and look forward to working with our partners to deliver the EnSmartEV project in Halton.”