The two companies will be using the 2022 deployments, expected to begin mid-year, as a framework for future roll-outs in other states.

Offering public and private applications for individual vehicles and fleets, the companies aim to show how cities can more quickly reach their sustainability and carbon reduction goals without further burdening existing power-grids with costly electrical infrastructure upgrades.

Smart City Capital has gone as far as to develop a new division of its business – UltraSmart Charge – around its partnership with ADS-TEC Energy. This so-called Smart City Capital Market Place will serves as a platform for 15,000 municipalities across the US, Canada and UK to shop for charging systems infrastructure.

"No other vendor can match what ADS-TEC Energy is doing. They are the right partner, at the right time, with the industry's most highly disruptive charging solution," said Oscar Bode, CEO of Smart City Capital. "We're proud to be bringing this first-of-its-kind ultra-high-speed charging to cities at a time when they need it to accelerate transformation and support sustainable economic growth."

ADS-TEC Energy's battery-buffered technology enables widespread, ultra-fast charging (up to 320 kW) on existing power-limited grids without additional infrastructure power upgrades.

This allows for the introduction of ultra-fast charging to previously unaddressed geographies and segments such as city centres, remote and rural areas, helping to ensure more inclusive access to EV charging. ADS-TEC Energy chargers can be used to quickly charge municipal vehicles – a city bus, for example – without impacting power needs of critical services such as 911 first responder networks or street lighting.

"Smart City Capital is aggressively breaking down the significant barriers to cities of all sizes becoming smart cities. We're thrilled to be partnering with them to deploy our high-speed, battery-buffered charging stations all across the United States, without requiring a major overhaul to the power grid," said Thomas Speidel, CEO and founder of ADS-TEC Energy. "Together, we'll be accelerating the transition to an all-electric world."

Hertz invests in UFODRIVE as it steps up EV technology services

UFODRIVE has raised US$19 million in Series A funding, co-led by Hertz and Certares, in partnership with Knighthead Capital.

UFODRIVE is billed as the first all-digital, all-electric car rental service controlled from an app, and its eMobility SaaS Platform makes transitioning to electric easy for both customers and fleet providers – delivering lean operations, lower energy costs, better charging and optimal fleet utilisation using advanced AI tools. Its technology delivers a two-minute ‘arrive and drive’ entirely digital EV customer experience.

The partnership builds on Hertz’s announcement in October 2021 that the company is investing in EVs – with a commitment to offer the largest electric vehicle rental fleet in North America and to grow its EV fleet globally. Hertz also committed to providing the best rental and recharging experience for leisure and business customers around the world. Also in October, the company announced an exclusive partnership with Uber to make Tesla electric vehicles available for drivers to rent when using the Uber network.

It signals another key move from Hertz as it accelerates into the electric mobility space following its deal with Tesla last October.