First Pop-Up Mini Solar Car Park Provides 20,000 Miles of Charge

As much as I like summer and the hot weather, here in the UK we really aren’t geared up to deal with it compared with many European countries and the US, which seem to function far better when the thermometer hits 30oC +, although Manhattan can be pretty unbearable if you are outside and not in a cold air conditioned office, hotel, bar or restaurant!

So, many of us are quite happy now that the temperature as cooled down a bit, me included. However, this good weather has given 3ti, the UK’s leading designer, installer, funder and operator of Solar Car Parks, the opportunity to remind us of the significant power the sun provides and how it can be put to a more positive effect on the environment for us all.

The prototype of 3ti’s world’s first pop-up mini solar car park and electric vehicle charging hub, “Papilio3” was installed at the end of May and has since generated sufficient solar power to drive an average family EV over 20,000 miles, which is well over twice the average UK driver’s annual mileage.

Tim Evans, 3ti founder and CEO, says:

“Solar is an abundant source of renewable energy – yield from our first Papilio3 unit at Surrey Research Park has already topped 4.86MWh, and all 12 charging points have been in regular use. The most recent International Energy Agency statistics show that, thanks to higher solar and wind power generation, renewable electricity production is up by 9.8% year-on-year across all Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, but there is still plenty of room for further improvement.”

Last month, the first Papilio3 unit generated 2.36MWh and is currently on track to exceed this figure in July. It represents a 53 per cent PV Generation to EV Charging ratio. This will however reduce throughout the year and is expected to average at around 20 per cent after the winter.

Papilio3 has been built around a recycled shipping container and can be deployed within 24 hours, integrating the three technologies of 3ti: solar electricity generation, battery energy storage systems (with a capacity of up to 250 kWh) and EV charge points (of 7, 11 and 22 kW).

Evans goes on to say:

“SCPs have already displayed vast potential as a method of generating renewable energy. In June, for example, just one of our customer sites produced 290MWh from a 2.2 MWp solar array. At current prices that’s over £65,000 worth of electricity. Papilio3 will play a direct and prominent role in decarbonising the UK transport sector with scalable technology that is easily deployed as a workplace and destination charging solution. It will also help to deliver on renewable energy targets and reduce the carbon intensity of EV charging, especially during peak hours where the grid relies on a carbon-rich safety net.”

3ti’s first crowdfunding round opened on 23rd June and exceeded its initial target of raising £500,000 target within the first hour of going live publicly. The fund will allow 3ti to accelerate the roll-out of Papilio3 and enable the 3ti team to grow. It also supports continued clean energy technology development, and with a week left before closing on 31st July, 3ti has tripled its investment target on the Crowdcube platform to £1.5 million, which is quite an achievement.

For more information 3ti, please visit their website: https://3ti.co.uk.

Author Bio:

Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man Behind The Wheel, a professional photographer and former saloon car racing driver.

Photograph courtesy of 3ti

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*