When approached by the clients Bass Energy, they proposed plans to revolutionise the EV charging infrastructure in the UK with new technology developed by their team. Therefore, the opportunity arose to create a lightweight, portable charger to fit with the new infrastructure that Bass Energy is hoping to create. The task was to produce an aesthetic, yet functional EV charger that the user would be responsible for, with the charger being transported in the boot of the vehicle to be used at charging points set on pavements around cities and towns. The charger needed to be small and lightweight enough to be stored, and safely manoeuvred around, with user interaction on the side of the charger being crucial in product operation. The on-street presence of the EV charger also needed to be considered, as a small object on the pavement could cause health and safety issues. Therefore, a large on-street presence was needed without increasing the size of the charger.
My work combines both physical and digital work, by creating physical models out of cardboard and sketches, as well as creating a more finalised CAD model to display. This is in connection with the research element of materials and manufacturing processes used to create this project in the real world for the clients.
Quote from my clients, Bass Energy
"We feel Hywel’s design matched our brief well. The form factor of the device was in keeping with other street furniture found in a suburban environment and looked well proportioned. The use of varied grey colour tones demonstrated how you could make the device blend in to most back-drops. The use of strongly coloured lights which can inform the user of the device status would make the device easily identifiable as an EV charger and also alert other footpath users to this non-permanent piece of street furniture. Hywel demonstrated that this EV charger design fitted well within the boot of a small family sized car together with other ‘typical’ boot contents. Hywel carefully considered the weatherproof performance that the device required, with good detail around how the device is likely to perform during operation and how it will need to be handled by different users."