This powerbank trailer can solve range issues for electric vehicles

Every day, we come across initiatives that produce solutions on electric cars, which are seen as the future of the automotive world. The France-based EP Tender initiative produces solutions for the biggest problem of electric cars - its range and battery.

Offering a very simple solution, the EP Tender produces a kind of powerbank for electric cars. EP Tender, which produces small caravans with batteries inside which you can connect to the back of your car, allows you to increase your range. The prototype uses rechargeable batteries with a total capacity of 36.5 KWh, but a 60 KWh variant is also being prepared.

The French start-up EP Tender is in talks with Renault and PSA to factory-install the tow bar and the connectors necessary to allow its battery trailers to be connected to the manufacturers' electric vehicles.

Renault was one of the first to try to solve the problems of a small power reserve in 2008, the company collaborated with the Israeli Better Place, introducing replaceable batteries in its electric vehicles, starting withthe Fluence sedan.However, the project was unsuccessful, and in 2013 Better Place was disbanded.

Тhе French ѕtаrtuр uses thе Rеnаult Zое еlесtrіс vеhісlе, еquірреd wіth а 52-КWh bаttеrу расk рrоvіdіng 390 kіlоmеtеrѕ, as an example. Thе ЕР Теndеr trаіlеr claims to dоublе іtѕ mіlеаgе, tаkіng іntо ассоunt thе іnсrеаѕеd еnеrgу соnѕumрtіоn fоr tоwіng thе trаіlеr. Іntеrеѕtіnglу, thе ѕаmе ѕtаrtuр wаѕ оffеrіng ѕіmіlаr ѕmаll trаіlеrѕ wіth gаѕоlіnе gеnеrаtоrѕ, whісh соuld сhаrgе bаttеrіеѕ whіlе соnѕumіng fuеl.

Aiming to rent these battery caravans, EP Tender will charge a rental fee of $ 37 per caravan. Battery caravans that will be activated when your car's battery runs out will provide your car with an extra 60 kilowatt-hour of battery power.

The original idea of EP Tender was to put a combustion engine in the trailer to transform electric cars into hybrid vehicles. The company currently has 20 trailers of this type used by customers, all of which have Renault Zoe or electric Kangoo. But the lower cost of batteries convinced the company to change its strategy and install them in trailers.