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Friday, 29.03.2024, 00:45
Lithuanians “Red Dot” winners for their electric charge station product design
A joint
project created by a team of Kaunas based designers, technicians and engineers:
“CityCharge V2” is the product of a desire to create the perfect marriage of
design and cutting edge technology. As Ignas
Mikutis, CEO of Elinta Charge,
explains, “It was our goal to develop the highest quality, globally competitive
product. And in achieving this goal, technology plays a no less important role than
aesthetics. And we’re happy to say that we’ve been able to realise this vision
here.“
The “Red
Dot Award: Product Design” is open only to global manufacturers and designers
whose products are manufactured using an industrial production process and whose
products have been launched within the last two years. “CityCharge V2”was
developed at the end of 2017 and has already attracted considerable interest
from Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Israel, Southern Europe and
neighbouring countries, with 80% of production so far going to export markets.
What is it
that has led the “CityCharge V2” charging station to establish such an
international reach in such a short period? According to the company’s clients,
it’s a mixture of the quality of the product’s assembly, its components, its
management system, and, of course, its unique product design.
The
ground-based, specially-equipped aluminium charging chassis of “CityCharge V2”,
is a standard for the IEC62196 Mode 3, and is classified as medium -fast
charger. With a charging power of up to 44 kW (22 kW per socket), it allows for
the quick charging of two cars at once. The station includes intelligent energy
metering, LED indicator lines and screen, and an energy balancing system that
allows for the optimisation of the electric power supplied to the point. It also
incorporates RFID technology which enables user identification with an electromagnetic
card, as well as the monitoring of station performance and energy usage. Remote
monitoring and remote control is also made possible via the station’s
communication and back-end system.
The company
has ambitious development plans going forward. As company CEO, Ignas Mikutis, explains,
“We have a product of exceptional quality with excellent technical
characteristics and aesthetics, one which has received recognition not only
from “Red Dot” but from our partners and potential customers across Europe and
beyond. We are currently closing an investment deal, and we will be expanding
our team soon. These factors, along with the growing demand for our product
will allow us to increase production tenfold in the upcoming year. This in turn
will allow us to establish ourselves in the markets where we already have a
presence and step by step expand geographical coverage in the next few years. What’s
more, we are confident that the regulatory changes that the market is now
experiencing will work in our favour. Where in the past, interest predominantly
came from Scandinavian countries and Southern Europe, we believe that we will
soon be able to expand into Eastern Europe, as there is currently much
regulatory development happening there in the field of electric vehicle
infrastructure.“
This year,
designers and manufacturers from 59 countries entered more than 6,300 products
in the Red Dot competition. Encompassing 48 diverse categories ranging from
fashion and accessories to consumer electronics and vehicles, household
appliances and furniture, awards were presented in three categories,
“Honourable Mention”, “Red Dot: Winner” and “Red Dot: Best of the Best”. A team
of 39 experienced jury members issued the awards based on the criteria of product
innovation, functionality, quality, product ergonomics and ecological
compatibility.
In
existence since 1955, and organised by one of the largest design associations,
“Red Dot” worldwide, “The Red Dot Award” is one of the world’s largest design
competitions.
Elinta Charge is a Lithuania based developer of European
standard IEC 62196 and IEC 61851 electric charging stations suitable for all
models of electric cars and plug-in hybrids. They began operations in 2011 as a
department of the high-tech company “Elinta.” From July 2018 the company has
been operating as Elinta Charge - a
developer and producer of electric car charging stations for home and public use.