The company E-Gap arrives in Spain, which has been providing a vehicle-to-vehicle charging service on demand for three years. It will not be a problem again to have been left with a low charge in the batteries and without the possibility of reaching a recharging point.
Who has not ever needed to borrow a charger because the mobile phone is about to turn off due to lack of battery? The same problem can occur with an electric car due to lack of foresight or not having been able to recharge -for whatever reason-. arrive in Spain E-Gap to avoid that problem.
Let’s suppose that we have driven our electric car until it couldn’t take it anymore, needing an emergency recharge to be able to return or finish the journey. E-Gap takes care of bringing a fast charger to where the car is parked, and giving it the energy it needs. Technically speaking, it is vehicle-to-vehicle recharging (V2V).
The classic remedy of transferring power with clamps is only good for starting, it cannot recharge high-voltage batteries
This company of Italian origin is already present in Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. It has just announced its arrival in the Spanish market, initially in the city of Madrid and later to Barcelona, where the majority of registered electric cars are accumulated. Other cities will arrive later.
How does E-Gap work?
You have to be registered in their system, something we can do in minutes with your mobile app for Android or iPhone. Once we have an account in our name and an associated means of payment -because it is not paid in cash-, it is enough to request the recharge service.
Through geolocation, the position of the car is sent to an operator, who will go to the site with an adapted van with additional batteries. They ask that the car is properly parked and if possible there is space for the E-Gap van to park next to it.
The hatch that gives access to the plug must be left open, especially if we are not going to be present when assistance arrives. The operator will park next to it, connect the cable and wait for the recharging process to complete. The customer chooses in advance how many kWh he intends to recharge.
E-Gap vans can be very fast, they have a power of 130 kW, as long as the car accepts that rhythm. The slowest link in the chain always determines the maximum recharging speed, among other factors (temperature, state of charge…).
Since it is a service that is not going to be requested regularly -they have to pass on the cost of the service-, and based on the fact that they are going to recharge batteries with little charge, they will easily accept a lot of power. It is from 80% when the process slows down quite a bit and the amps drop.
E-Gap is forging alliances with different companies, such as Stellantis, EnelX, Avis or Saba, to provide service to their clients. E-Gap will have 20 electric charging vans on demand in Spain at the end of the year. The company has three years of positive experience in other markets and has been growing.
While the car recharges, there’s plenty of time for a drink nearby – Photo: Freepik.es
It is not the first time that a service of this type has arrived in Spain. Previously, First Stop offered an emergency charging service through Full&Fast with Nissan e-NV200 vans and Scoobic tricycles. Also, the company L-Charge carried out a demonstration of its recharging vans in Barcelonaalthough it does not operate in Spain, only in London.
E-Gap has more charging power than First Stop vehicles, which run from 7.2 to 22 kW. Its scope of operation is also Madrid and Barcelona, although it is limited to fleets and companies. This service is one of those that will populate the electromobility ecosystem in a short time.
One of the main problems with the adoption of the electric car is the fear “of being thrown” or autonomy anxiety. Companies like E-Gap allow the local user not to worry, if the planets align and the batteries run out, a fast recharge can be ordered at a reasonable price, avoiding having to call the tow truck to ask for a recharge in a workshop.