Berlin start-up turns street lamps into electric chargers
Berlin - Electric-car users in the German capital Berlin may soon be able to plug in at the nearest lamppost and recharge the batteries of a zero-emission runabout.
In an initial test phase, mobility service provider Ubitricity will adapt 100 lampposts in the city.
The company says conversion costs less than 300 euros (412 dollars)per lamp standard compared to 10,000 euros (13,700 dollars) each for conventional recharging points.
The lamppost charger consists of a simple power cable and metre. The counter tots up the power used when a pre-registered owner plugs in the car.
A utility company bills the customer for the electricity used.
"We are bringing electro-mobility to the streets and we want to show that the infrastructure for it is affordable," Ubitricity founder Knut Hechtfischer told the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche.
Berlin's state government has said it plans to put up 800conventional charging stations for electric cars around the city by the end of 2015.//DPA
