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De Blasio Administration Announces Finalists from Tech Companies on Local Climate Action

June 15, 2018

Six NYCx Moonshot Challenge finalists piloted breakthrough charging technologies for electric vehicle use citywide.

NEW YORKMayor de Blasio today announced six finalists for the NYCx Climate Action Challenge. The challenge, which was announced in December, was the first of its kind. Mayor de Blasio, in partnership with NYCs Mayors Office of the Chief Technology Officer, NYC Mayors Office of Sustainability, NYCs Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and NYCs Department of Transportation, called on the tech industry to develop solutions for scaling electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and accelerating the use of EVs citywide. Nearly three dozen international and local organizations submitted breakthrough technology solutions, including solar canopies, energy-harnessing infrastructure, and software to connect vehicle batteries to the energy grid.

Here in our city, were doing our part to leave future generations a cleaner and healthier planet. New York City continues to lead the charge against climate change, exploring all our options to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said Mayor Bill de Blasio. The technologies developed by the NYCx finalists could make it easier than ever for New Yorkers to switch to electric vehicles and other alternative, clean modes of transportation.

Nearly one third of greenhouse gases produced in New York City come from transportation, and private vehicles account for 90% of those emissions. New York is one of many cities around the world demonstrating leadership and action on scaling EV use. The City of Paris is collaborating with the NYCx Moonshot platform and the EV challenge to increase access to fast charging stations.

Finalists received up to $13,000 to demonstrate their solutions in NYC. In addition to their demonstrations, finalists delivered presentations to senior government leaders, including New York Citys Chief Fleet Officer. The winner of the challenge will be announced in July and may have the opportunity to do a longer demonstration project with the NYC Department of Transportation or Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

Winning solutions will complement the Citys plan to develop fast charging stations across the city with a $10 million investment to develop hubs with up to 20 chargers per site. These efforts can, in coordination with the Citys Clean Fleet program, support the Administrations target of having 20 percent of motor vehicle registrations in New York City be electric by 2025.

In addition to their NYC demonstrations, finalists will be invited to Paris to meet senior leaders from across City government, the local startup ecosystem, Paris&Co (the economic development and innovation agency of Paris), NUMA Innovation Hub, and others. They will also be invited to participate in the City of Pariss upcoming Innovation Districts Competition focused on new mobility, with more details to be announced at a later date.

The following six finalists demonstrated their work:

Volta Charging is a San Francisco-based company delivering a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations by partnering with brands to sponsor free charging for all EV drivers. Volta believes that its unique business model and sponsorship approach can accelerate EV adoption citywide. Their final round demonstration included a detailed visual mockup of a future fast-charging hub in NYC.

WAVE is a Salt Lake City-based company providing wireless charging infrastructure for transit, port, industrial, and off-road EVs. WAVE believes that wirelessly or inductively charged electric vehicles are cost-competitive with conventional vehicles. Their final round demonstration included visualizing, via computer-aided design images and video, how a wireless charging retrofit might be implemented on an existing fleet vehicle and how a wireless charging pad might be installed in an existing roadway.

Adaptive Motion Group (AMG) is a Solana Beach-based company designing and delivering smart vehicle technology and smart ecosystems where intelligent systems work in harmony with humans -- safely and intuitively. They believe that mobile charging infrastructure is the principle way to scale EV adoption citywide as the charging units are able to move between different parking spaces instead of being a fixed asset. Their final round demonstration included showcasing how a mobile Freewire MOBI charger could be used to navigate tight corridors like parking lots or industrial yards to effectively charge stationary vehicles.

JUMP Bikes is a Brooklyn-based electric bike share company that in 4 years has delivered 15,000 bikes into 40 different markets traveling 5 million rides. Their Social Bicycles were the first ever smart-bikes with integrated GPS, payment systems, and locks, and they believe that dockless, electric biking is the future of clean transportation. Their final round demonstration showcased the design, form-factor, and user experience of newly-installed chargers in their existing Brooklyn Navy Yard pilot.

Ubitricity is a German electric mobility company with a passion for rethinking infrastructure solutions for electric vehicles. Over the past few years, with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Economics, Ubitricity has developed and integrated smart mobile metering within its patented charging cables, which has unlocked charging solutions in walls and inside public lampposts. Their final round demonstration included showcasing the different components of their lightpole retrofit technology.

Innogy Consulting is a Boston-based management consultancy with a mission to support energy leaders in mastering the challenges of a transforming energy world. In partnership with Chinatown Bureau, a New York-based digital product studio that has led mobility solutions for Ford and Lincoln Motor Company in the US and China, theyre proposing a concept focused on accessible and quick EV charging infrastructure in a one-stop shop Mobility Hub. Their final round demonstration included building a physical installation of their lightpole retrofit technology as well as showcasing a detailed interactive VR experience of future fast-charging hubs across NYC.

The outcomes of this challenge will be instrumental to introducing emerging technologies that can help the City achieve its climate action goals while simplifying the charging needs of electric vehicle users and future adopters, said Jeremy M. Goldberg, Deputy CTO, NYCx, Mayors Office of the Chief Technology Officer. Im thrilled to see these new technologies come to life in a way that benefits all New Yorkers and addresses the pressing global challenges of climate change.

The NYCx finalists have created cutting-edge transportation technologies with extraordinary potential to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and further the Citys ambitious sustainability goals, said Mark Chambers, Director of the Mayors Office of Sustainability.

The six finalists selected as part of the NYCx Moonshot Challenge offer the City a tremendous opportunity to test new, clean technologies that can accelerate the electrification of mobility, said Marisa Lago, Director of the Department of City Planning. These diverse and innovative experiments in electric vehicle charging represent a critical ingredient of the Citys efforts to promote a greener, cleaner transportation system.

Nearly one million New Yorkers self-report as people with disabilities. As we lay the foundation for a future that is innovative and energy-efficient, we must ensure that it is designed for everyone including individuals with disabilities, said Commissioner Victor Calise of the Mayors Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD). MOPD is proud to work with the CTOs office on the Climate Action Challenge to ensure that our future smart city is fully accessible for all. These six finalists are committed to inclusive design that incorporates people with disabilities and we look forward to ultimately selecting a winner that will help make New York the most accessible city in the world."

This competition shows there is huge private sector interest and capability to help New York City adopt lower-carbon transportation, said Michael Replogle, Deputy Commissioner for Policy at the New York City Department of Transportation. Though our city has lower transportation greenhouse gas emissions per person than any other American city, thanks to our large reliance on walking, cycling, and public transportation, and large municipal green fleet, we need to sharply accelerate electric vehicle adoption to meet our ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals.

"NYC operates one of the nation's largest electric fleets with more than 1,300 units, said Keith Kerman, Chief Fleet Officer, NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services. Technology development is critical to this effort and NYCx is introducing new and exciting approaches that will help power the electric fleet of the future.

"Vehicles in New York City emit tens of millions of tons of greenhouse gases and harmful pollutants every year, said Council Member Costa Constantinides, Chair of the Council's Committee on Environmental Protection. Not only does this imperil our climate, but it also leads to health problems such as asthma and other respiratory illnesses. That's why programs like the Moonshot Challenge are critical to helping us reach our 80x50 goal. These are bold and innovative solutions equal to the unique challenges facing our city, and I want to congratulate all the finalists on their selection."

Volta is excited to build on eight years developing urban EV charging networks with our proposal to install and operate NYCs first major municipal charging network," said Scott Mercer, Volta CEO and Founder. "The hundreds of EV charging stations we hope to build in NYC would give away over 20 million free, electric miles every year to New Yorkers across all five boroughs. We would be thrilled to support all New Yorkers by working with a major brand to increase access to clean transportation, improve air quality, and help make NYC the fairest big city in America.

WAVE has solidified a wireless, hands-free EV charging product platform with scalability up to a MegaWatt, said Michael Masquelier, CEO of WAVE. Integrating this technology will enable NYC to deploy a city-wide shared wireless charging infrastructure for all medium and heavy duty vehicles. The NYCx Climate Action Challenge has opened our eyes to the role NYC is taking towards embracing leading-edge, yet proven technology to power the city's growing EV fleet.

Adaptive Motion Group is leading a team of highly innovative companies (Sprint, United Rentals, FSG, HNTB, P3, Freewire, LG, W8less, and Locbit) committed to smart city transformation, said David Bruemmer, CEO of Adaptive Motion Group. Together they have developed a solution that will reduce CO2 emissions through a dramatic increase in the use of electric buses, cars and industrial vehicles. The NYCx program has galvanized new strategic partnerships for the Adaptive Motion Group team, serving as the impetus for the collaborations necessary to scale the new solution throughout the city.

JUMP is bike share, electrified. In order to do this, we have to keep our bikes charged, said Ryan Rzepecki, Founder and CEO JUMP Bikes. We have been developing and piloting our e-bike charging unit for several months and are very excited to see what it and our e-bikes can do to truly help shift urban transportation to a more ecologically sustainable mode. We cannot wait to show the simplicity and power of our design. The NYCx Challenge again proves New York City's place as one of the most innovative and forward thinking cities.

Ubitricity believes passionately that the future belongs to green energy solutions and clean sustainable transport, said Knut Hechtfischer, Founder & Senior Advisor Strategic Corporate Development & Finance. We are delighted to be participating in the NYCx Challenge which will allow us to showcase Ubitricitys truly unique EV charging solution, retrofitting charge points into the humble street light. Were very excited to participate in the finals of the NYCx Challenge and cant wait to see how our solution plays out in the streets of New York!

Its terrific to see how the City of New York opens up this Challenge to the tech ecosystem including large corporations and small startups in order to set new global standards for urban transformation, said Dr. Klaus Grellmann, Managing Director of Innogy Consulting. We are thrilled and humbled to have been selected as part of such an impressive group of innovators with the mission to drive environmental, societal, and economic change.

Innovations to make the world a more environmentally sustainable and livable can come from anywhere and anyone said Andrew Rasiej, CEO of Civic Hall. NYCx demonstrates once again that the City of New York is leading the building a 21st century government that recognizes its citizens as true partners in a better future.

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