Mob-Energy, charging electric vehicles without terminals

Where did you get the idea for this startup?

The idea of Mob-Energy comes from Salim and Ilyass, two of its three co-founders, who were interested in the issue of electric vehicle charging during an innovation competition in November 2016. Even though we did not win, we were convinced that the problem was quite relevant, primarily for urban planning; we couldn’t imagine a city with a charging terminal at every parking space. Over the course of our research, and with the arrival of Maxime, our third and final co-founder, we developed the concept of the Bolt robot for storing and transporting energy to vehicles through an automated connection.

Any recent good news?

Soon, we will install the first Mob-Energy robot in a car park for real-world testing. It will be a first in the nation—or even the world—because Lyon Parc Auto (LPA) will be one of the first car parks in the world to have a robot operating among vehicles and pedestrians at the test site. It’s a daring challenge, but one that could have immense benefits for the startup and the car park manager. Management and the teams at LPA have been heavily involved in the experiment, ensuring optimal progress and meticulous risk management.

What is the most unexpected thing that your startup has made you do?

At the start of our market research, we were constantly looking for opportunities to reach out to drivers of electric vehicles in Lyon. The market is growing, but they are still hard to find!
Method #1: online and forums. Response rate: 10%.
Method #2: flyers on windscreens. Response rate: 20%.
Method #3: wait for the vehicle owner, in the cold, next to the vehicle. Response rate: 100%.
Just consider bringing along a tent for extreme cases!

In what way does your project revolutionise your category?

Today, with serious environmental concerns, there is a lot of talk about electric mobility. We see this as a good first step, and we are trying to expand it quickly. With our solution, we provide a solution to the problem’s three stakeholders: car park operators, unwitting supporters of electric mobility; users, who struggle to find charging options in the city; and the energy sector, faced with addressing the increased demand for energy. Finally, knowing the environmental impact of lithium-ion batteries, we’ve chosen to reuse second-generation batteries in our robots.