For almost three months I have always had the NRGkick with me as a mobile charging station in the trunk of my electric car. It was with me as a charging solution during my trip to Italy and I have already used it at public charging stations or at home. Here I show why and what the flexible way of charging with the smart charging station from NRGkick with WLAN and GSM enables.
NRGkick in action
What does NRGkick offer?
Dinitech has been offering mobile charging solutions with the NRGkick for years. Since last year, the first “mobile wallbox” with WLAN and GSM connection. The device actually consists of four parts: charging cable with a fixed length, in my case 7.5m, a charging unit plus plug unit and a suitable plug attachment. The highlight is that these plug attachments can be changed and adapted to the existing socket. Very important, the plug unit and the plug attachment together form the patented safety plug system. This ensures that a layperson cannot load the socket used beyond the norm.
The NRGkick charging unit with attachments and the matching transport bag
Patented safety plug system
The plug system mentioned ensures that a suitable attachment for the NRGkick can be used for every socket. This ensures that, for example, a maximum of 16A is released for a CEE16 socket and only 13A for a Schuko socket in the EU, or 8A for a T13 in Switzerland. In addition, the charging current can then be further limited manually using the free smartphone app. This offers maximum security, especially when I’m charging at an unknown installation while on vacation, I reduce the charging current even further below the possible limit.
Patented plug system and various attachments for the NRGkick
Size, weight & safety
Size and weight play an important role in a mobile charging station. With all the accessories in the accompanying transport box, the NRGkick weighs well over 6kg for me. This is certainly not a lightweight, but the charging station is also designed for 32A i.e. 22kW charging power. Storing it in the transport bag is a bit tight with the 7.5m cable and a few plug attachments. For the holidays I was able to pack everything together under the false floor in the ID.4 in one savings. It has perfect space there, the cable takes up significantly more space than a usual Type 2 charging cable, but of course also offers a lot more. The Type2 attachment basically saves you from having to carry 2 separate cables for charging at a socket and at a wallbox with a Type2 socket.
In terms of safety, NRGkick was able to build the wallbox in accordance with the standard with the help of plastic polymers so that it was drive-over-proof and heat-dissipating. In addition, the temperature is monitored at each phase. Poorly manufactured or connected sockets can lead to high temperatures. The NRGkick detects when the temperature there reaches a dangerous range. The thermal management immediately reduces the charging power and ensures safety.
The NRGkick in use on my CEE16 socket
Testsetup
Since there are different versions of the NRGkick, I have listed my test setup here. The main differences lie in the connectivity, the basic version “only” has WiFi and Bluetooth, the slightly more expensive version also comes with a GSM module and GPS. For both versions there are 3 variants of cable lengths, from 5m, over 7.5m to 10m.
Charging setup on vacation in Italy with the NRGkick
NRGkick on vacation
I had already reported about my trip to Italy with the VW ID.4. There I had the opportunity to charge via a socket right next to the parking lot. The landlord offered it to me and there is now a wallbox hanging there. But it was correspondingly practical that I was able to charge safely with the NRGkick during my two-week stay there and also read the amount of energy charged via the app. This is ideal for enabling fair billing with landlords. It goes without saying that the NRGkick and the adjustable charging current are also on the good side in terms of safety.
Perfect for on the go
NRGkick in action
I have a permanently installed wallbox at home, mainly because of the connectivity. The NRGkick is now the first networkable and mobile charging station on the market, which has the potential to even replace a stationary station. Aside from the holidays, I mostly used NRGkick as a type 2 charging cable with an integrated measuring unit. This is very practical if you charge at a public wallbox while on the go and would like to know the amount of energy. But for everyday life as an electric car driver in Switzerland, I don’t need the solution via industrial or household sockets. The density of charging stations is large enough, even if there are isolated cases in hotels or holiday apartments here and there.
With a Type 2 attachment, the NRGkick can also be used as an intelligent Mode 3 charging cable
The NRGkick app for the wallbox
I really liked the app. This allows you to regulate and monitor the charging current. You can also see other technical details such as current charging quantity, voltages and much more. You can also use the time control in the app to specifically define when the vehicle should charge. For me the really ingenious thing is that the mobile charging station sends charging reports as a CSV or PDF document upon request. This is also exciting when you’re on the move if you charge at public charging stations with a Type 2 plug attachment and would like to have a charging report.
Practically the app for the wallbox
NRGkick Cloud – a look into the future
The NRGkick chargers can be accessed from anywhere via the cloud thanks to the built-in GSM module and of course also via WLAN. I also used the device in Italy. Over the last few months I’ve had the great opportunity to test use NRGkick’s cloud API and give feedback. This meant that I was able to regulate the NRGkick and in the future it would also be possible to implement a control system for PV excess charging. A connection to the Solar Manager is therefore technically possible and promises a lot for future applications. It’s great that the developers from Austria also thought of this.
PV surplus loading with the NRGkick, ingenious extension.
Conclusion
The mobile wallbox from NRGkick is now the second generation from Dinitech’s own company. The fact that safety has now been increased using a patented safety plug system is great. For me, however, I find the connectivity via WLAN and GSM even more exciting and really well implemented. The app is simple and well made, allows me to access the NRGick from anywhere and therefore has many control options. Speaking of which, I was particularly pleased with the early access to the Cloud API. As soon as solar charging is also possible here, the mobile wallbox will cover practically all the features of stationary devices, brilliant. The only point of criticism is the weight, but with the design for 22kW charging power there is hardly any additional room for improvement.
So if you are looking for a practical, mobile charging solution and also like to access it via your smartphone, I recommend the charging solution from NRGkick.
The NRGkick is available from CHF 889 as a mobile charging station with WiFi and 5m cable. My version with GSM and 7.5m cable is 1269.- CHF.