Vancouver-based battery technology company Energy Plug Technologies Corp. (PLUG-CN) aims to pave a smoother path to electric vehicle (EV) adoption with its off-grid, battery-powered charging station.

The passenger vehicle station can be deployed in rural areas with limited electricity infrastructure — one factor which hinders EV adoption. Thus, it leaves “somebody who may live in a rural or remote community no more excuse of why you couldn’t have one,” Broderick Gunning, president and CEO of Energy Plug, told Sustainable Biz Canada.

Based on a 20 kilowatt-hour (kW-h) battery designed by Energy Plug, multiple Level 2 and 3 EV chargers can be in operation at one time — up to three Level 2 chargers, Gunning recommends. 

Also compatible with electricity grids, the battery can be charged by solar panels and wind turbines, or a diesel generator in a hybrid set-up. The ability to operate independently from grids helps solve an energy limitation that could hinder mass EV adoption, he explained.

“The problem right now in the development landscape or residential landscape is that the grids are not set up to handle excessive load. That’s posing a major problem for people who are buying electric vehicles,” he said. “This essentially gives the mitigation to do that.”

Widening the energy pool for EV charging

Gunning, a cleantech and energy entrepreneur, joined Energy Plug’s board of directors in June 2023 and was elevated to president and CEO in December.

His focus is addressing the small-scale commercial and industrial sectors with the company’s battery energy storage technology. Energy Plug’s battery offerings to date are a 10-kilowatt product and a 20 kW-h model that can be modified to be ground or pole mounted.

“We found this niche there because we found that not a lot of products were being created for that market, and soon to be overlooked because people were going to residential- or grid-scale,” he said.

Developing EV battery charging capabilities is one of the use cases which arose from the company's research.

He witnessed the obstacles faced by the EV infrastructure industry before his tenure at Energy Plug. It may seem simple to embrace EVs by installing home chargers, he said, but the more complex issue of upgrading the power system must also be addressed.

EVs are electricity hogs, straining grids. The challenge is expected to escalate with increasing EV adoption, dovetailing with predicted rising electricity demand from a growing population and electrification in other sectors as well. The off-grid EV charging station adds independent energy capacity, helping to ease those concerns.

Gunning said customers such as utilities have expressed interest in Energy Plug’s charging station because it enhances the existing grid connection.

“You now have excess power, so in the case of a blackout, you’re online. In the case of an emergency, you’re online. In the case of high power costs, you’re utilizing that power when you’ve stored it at a lower cost.”

Granting flexibility for remote EV charging

Renewable energy can power the charging station with standard connection equipment provided by the manufacturer, Gunning said. For users without reliable grid access, it can be linked to solar power or a diesel generator for a mixed system. Though it does not assist with decarbonization, diesel generators are being used for stationary and mobile charging stations when needed, he explained.

Charging and power will be orchestrated by Energy Plug’s energy management system that will be customized to the user's location, situation and overall needs.

An internal discussion is how to incorporate EV chargers — whether Energy Plug should pair its charging station with a charger or sell it alone. Gunning expects Energy Plug will likely incorporate a charger as an option to purchase with the battery.

The station will be likely open for pre-sale starting in January 2025. Potential buyers such as residential and commercial developers and engineering firms have voiced interest, Gunning said.

Energy Plug plans to offer 50- and 100-kW-h EV charging stations in 2025, significantly boosting the energy capacity.

Energy Plug’s upcoming factory

The company manufactures its batteries in Taiwan, but is looking to shift production to British Columbia in partnership with the Malahat Nation on Vancouver Island.

Its plan is to open a 56,000-square-foot lithium-ion phosphate battery factory in Q4 2025 that will employ over 200 people. Expected production is one gigawatt-hour of batteries per year.

The batteries have low maintenance costs and are safer than batteries used in large-scale operations, Gunning said.

A “very large” sales pipeline has been built over last 12 months, and Energy Plug has pre-sold six battery systems over the past few weeks, he said.