Rohit Kalyanpur, a person who has brought a new idea of charging the e-scooters via solar energy is being popular among the e-scooter startups. He thought it is possible to generate energy from a solar panel. These panels have long been used almost solely on rooftops and as part of industrial solar grids.

People have been previously using solar-powered calculators and lawn lights in Chicago. Kalyanpur learned about energy and work on a solar charging prototype. He first used solar energy to charge his iPhone and worked on spontaneously to check the usage of solar energy on various other gadgets.

He discovered that there were no developer tools to build a self-charging project. In the hardware projects, the developers could turn to the open-source electronics prototyping platforms. But there were no such platforms available for the solar charging projects. There was nothing that the developers could use to optimize a solar product. He has helped in building such tools.

Kalyanpur attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He became friends with Paul Couston who helped him to manage and invest the university’s $10 million green funds. Both of them dropped out of school to start their now four-person company named Optivolt Labs.

They got the impetus with the entry into the accelerator program Techstars Chicago. They kept gaining momentum since then. Kalyanpur has now received a Thiel Fellowship which is a two-year-long program that includes a $100,000 grant to young people who are interested in building new things. They even received a lot of mentorships and key introductions.

The company has raised a separate $1.75 million round of seed funding from a long list of notable individual investors. The investors include Eventbrite co-founders Kevin & Julia Hartz; TJ Parker, who is the founder and CEO of PillPack which is an Amazon subsidiary. Other investors include Pinterest COO Francoise Brougher: and Jeff Lutz, a former Google SVP.

They are into the promise of a scalable technology stack for solar integration. Though still, nascent Optivolt has now comprehended a way to provide adequate power transfer systems, a solar developer and simulation devices and cloud-based API’s to facilitate fleets of machines to self-charge in ambient light.

The e-scooters will now be charged using solar energy along with the drones, sensors and other devices. The testing of the technology will begin soon and a number of “enterprise fleets” have already signed on to work with Optivolt in pilot programs.

It is a pretty huge opportunity for many e-scooter startups. Some companies have already begun offering smaller solar-powered vehicles. There are probably several outfits that would favor finding a way to retrofit the hardware they already have in the world.

The e-scooters can use their current batteries also. The solar will not just charge the machines or e-scooters in real-time but at the same time will allow them to store some of that energy.

Optivolt’s technology “seamlessly blends into everyday products. So, there is no need to change the product design necessarily. They are excited to see how it works out with the e-scooters running on the streets. Right now, Optivolt’s highest priority is its new round of funding along with hiring more engineering talent.

Swiftmile, a Light electric vehicle charging system company that is beginning the world’s first solar-powered scooter charging platform. The platform will be launching very soon in an important US city with a national scooter operator.

The new platform is just like a gas station for the e-scooters. It allows any operator to use the regular charging stations addressing city gridlock. It can scale to sustain thousands of e-scooters from any dockless scooter company.

Fostering mass adoption

 
Oasis is another company that aims to provide the cities with an eco-friendly, common and modular answer for organizing scooter programs. The company’s new in-field charging program can sustain thousands of e-scooters in need of a charge while encouraging mass confirmation.

As the shared electric scooters and bikes add great new commutation option for cities. But there are problems related to parking and litter. A parking and charging system for these dockless e-scooters is a great answer to all the problems that we are looking for.

Swiftmile’s exclusive charge-management back-end can blend with any third-party scooter app. This allows riders and drivers to easily find charging and parking places for e-scooters. The installation of these charging stations is easy and inexpensive.

The program is proposed with the following:

• Adaptors for every e-scooter makes them compatible with Swiftmile app
• Independent quick charging
• LED lighting for checking easy checking of vehicle availability
• Solar and battery warehouse
• An integrated lock and charging
• Ready-built APIs for back-end mobile app integration
• Lifetime assistance, support, and updates.

Swiftmile’s intends to be just like the gas stations were to the auto industry. They are becoming much important to the fast-growing micro-mobility revolution. They are acting as the peacemakers between the public, cities and scooter operators. They have built the first in-field e-scooter charging system which enables the e-scooters to be parked and charged in convenient locations, then show back up on any scooter operator’s app ready to ’roll’ again.

Also Read : Everything you need to start your own e-scooter business in 2019

 
Charge electric scooter with solar panels

One can charge the electric scooter with any equipment that produces electricity. It is not an issue if one wishes to charge the e-scooter with solar panels. The problem is developing a circuit that transforms it to a standard socket in which one can plug the electric scooter.

The circuit can be created using solar panels, an inverter, and the rest of the circuit. But, there is a more uncomplicated option. There are charging stations offering solar charging for the e-scooters with the help of solar panels. One can even charge the e-scooters at their own place by installing the solar panel kits where it receives sunlight and plug-in the e-scooters. The e-scooter startups can have their own solar panel charging stations across the city to make it convenient for the customers to charge their e-scooters in an eco-friendly manner.

To know more about the e-scooter business models or creating an app for your e-scooter business or how to buy your own fleet of e-scooters you can connect with us and make us your technology partner.

How we can help to get Solar Charging option for your e scooter app or with E scooter iOT integration?

 
We can help you in choosing the right fleet for your business and the right technology to make you unique in the eyes of your audience. We have a team of experts who can get all the new technology support in your e scooter app. Our IOT integration experts can help to set-up or configure latest technology and hardwares with your current e scooter app or fleets. Our best technology, can take your e-scooter business to the top level in your operation area. Get a free consultation session to know more about the app development cost and the features for your e-scooter app.

You might love to read these :

• E-scooter rental company Bird takes its scooter rental business to the next level by renting the scooters on a monthly basis
• Lime’s e-Scooters Have Arrived in Canada! How to Launch Your Own Electric Scooter App Like Lime?
• E Scooter App development: Bird eScooters taking over 100+ cities, you can too! Build Bird like e scooter app