Volta

Volta produce a range of EV charging stations, they had a need for a charging station that incorporated advertising space. The charging unit would be positioned outside retailers offering a free charge to customers, the advertising would go toward offsetting the cost of installation and ongoing maintenance. Given the exposed location of the charging unit it was important that the construction was robust enough to withstand low speed collisions as well as the environmental challenges of being installed outside. The proposed solution maximises advertising space and visibility, the modular aluminium construction facilitates maintenance and repair whilst also allowing an element of adaptation for future markets. The decision was taken to avoid the use of a retraction mechanism for the cabling to reduce cost and the likelihood of failure, instead large obvious lobes are used to coil the cables around. After the initial functionality of the advertising space and charging unit the emphasis of the design was placed on making the charging station robust and durable. The success of the product hinges on the retailers purchasing the units and a low maintenance cost effective solution proved to be an important draw for this market.