In a ground-breaking move, New Zealand-based company Evnex has unveiled its next-generation E2 smart charger, empowering electric vehicle (EV) owners to make environmentally conscious decisions by providing real-time information on their charging sessions’ carbon emissions. The cutting-edge E2 charger allows users to determine the energy source fuelling their vehicles, be it hydro, wind, solar, gas or coal, and adjust their charging behaviour accordingly.
The E2 is the first commercial offering of its kind outside the US and Europe, featuring carbon monitoring tools that measure the electricity grid’s carbon intensity. Through live data, EV owners can track and measure the emissions from their previous charging sessions. Excitingly, for all green-geeks like me anyway, these features will also be rolled out for free to existing Evnex chargers.
Evnex founder and CEO Ed Harvey emphasises that simply switching to EVs isn’t enough to achieve New Zealand’s carbon-neutral goals. “Clean charging” using renewable energy sources is vital to reduce carbon footprints and fully maximize the positive impact of EVs.
Although approximately 80% of New Zealand’s energy is generated from renewable sources, fluctuations occur based on demand. To address this, Evnex collaborates with Energy Market Services, which provides carbon intensity information every 30 minutes. By tracking charging against these periods, Evnex offers an overall measure of charging emissions.
Evnex’s innovative technology enables users to make real-time decisions to pause or defer charging when fossil fuels are in high use. The company envisions automating charging in the future to coincide with the cleanest electricity availability. These long-term insights into carbon use have the potential to significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
After two years in development, the E2 charger is made from 70% bio-circular plastic and boasts a 7.4kW power rating. It comes equipped with a five-meter tethered cable and a user-friendly ‘Charge Now’ function, enabling users to override pre-set charging schedules with just a tap. The E2 is available in four colours inspired by the New Zealand landscape. These are Snow, Sand, Stone and Volcanic. You can choose a colour that blends into your environment rather than becomes the focal point on the wall.
Evnex’s pioneering E2 smart charger is paving the way for EV owners to make smarter, greener decisions, directly contributing to the fight against climate change by minimising the carbon footprint of electric vehicles charged with gas or coal-generated electricity.
Interestingly enough, old Evnex units will get the new eco conscious smarts through a software update so there’s no need to rip out your existing unit.
The E2 is rather competitively priced at $1,395 incl GST for the unit only and Evnex’s in-house installation service covers 100% of New Zealand population.
Find yours from the Evnex website.
