SparkCharge Roadie Is a Portable Fast Charger for Stranded EVs

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If SparkCharge or its young entrepreneurial CEO Josh Aviv sound familiar to you, perhaps you caught Aviv's appearance on ABC's Shark Tank, where he landed partnerships with both Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner to help introduce a battery-based portable DC fast charger for EVs—a green "generator" that enables off-grid EV recharging. This technology finally makes the emergency "e-jerry can" available for when an EV runs completely out of juice.

At the heart of this mobile DC fast charger for EVs is the Roadie system, consisting of some number of 3.7-kWh batteries that connect together in a stack, topped by a Roadie charger unit (using the standard CCS plug) capable of DC fast charging at a rate of 20kW, operating at between 150 and 500 volts of DC power. The charger block weighs 51 pounds. Each battery box weighs 73 pounds and takes about 2 hours to recharge on 110-volt power. And because the whole stack is compact enough to fit on a wheeled cart, it can be maneuvered right up to the EV, wherever it's parked. These units are manufactured in Buffalo, NY.

Depending on the need, a four-stack of Roadie batteries can add 60-70 miles to a single vehicle (in about an hour) or dispense 10 miles of range to seven different EVs. One caveat—the system will not charge a car above 80 percent, because the charging rate plunges at that point.

SparkCharge has established the world's first and only mobile, ultrafast charging network by partnering with companies like Allstate, Spiffy, Mark Cuban, and others to bring CaaS to select cities such as Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, and Raleigh and Richmond in Virginia, plus San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, and San Diego in California.

Allstate uses its SparkCharge Roadie hardware to provide roadside assistance, but many of the other services are geared toward scheduled charging. This is perfect for those times when an EV owner's schedule may involve a longer-than-usual daily drive outside the driver's known charging infrastructure, with a scheduled meeting. Simply arrange to have extra miles of range added during your meeting, using one of the other services like Spiffy in Raleigh or ChargeNow NYC. Or schedule it using the …

In the regions where these services are active, the apps allow users to schedule charging (24 hour advance notice is recommended but not required) so as to avoid ever having to wait in line for a free charger or amuse themselves during a lengthy charging session. Simply confirm the car's location, leave the charge port open (on vehicles that don't permit remote opening of the port), and it gets charged as easily as you used to be able to get an Amazon package delivered to your trunk.

Currently now operates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, and Dallas, offering tiered charging-on-demand plans. The Volt subscription costs $25 per month, which covers two charges, each of which comes with a delivery fee of $9.99. The Jolt plan costs $60 for four charges and a $5.99 delivery fee. Finally, the Bolt Subscription runs $80 for six charges plus $5.99 delivery. Users can request how many miles to be added, up to 70 miles or 80 percent battery state of charge, whichever comes first. (A cancelation fee of $10 applies if the vehicle isn't available in the requested location at the appointed time.) Currently delivered some 100,000 miles of range last year. It sounds like Mark Cuban stands to profit from his SparkCharge Shark Tank investment. And beginning March 1, 2022, Kia EV drivers within Currently's initial service areas are getting two months of service at no cost, with an option to continue service at their expense thereafter.