When innovative EV charging startup FreeWire shut its doors last year, it looked like its clever, infrastructure-light EVSE concept might vanish along with it. Now, Orange EV has taken up the cause, and it’s bringing the battery-based charging tech back with an all-new name. Meet the Orange Juicer. (!)

The FreeWire concept was, if you’ll forgive the effusiveness, fantastic. Basically, they integrated a li-ion battery back into a vertical cabinet that could be effectively “trickle charged” with a standard 110 or 220 AC connection, then “dump” that charge into an EV very quickly – enabling up to 200 kW of DC fast charging without the need for expensive utility and infrastructure.

But, while most people the FreeWire concept might have great for rural gas stations that rarely saw EVs and didn’t need constant access to hundreds of kW of power, the engineers at Orange EV saw something different.

“As more customers accelerate adoption of Orange EV trucks and electrify other site equipment, we’ve seen infrastructure upgrades cause serious holdups,” Orange EV founder and president, Kurt Neutgens, told Charged. “The Orange Juicer solves that challenge, giving fleets a fast, scalable and cost-effective charging platform that utilizes existing on-site power.”

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“Fast” is the key word here. As the lower TCO and improved uptime promises of Orange EV’s electric terminal tractors get proven out again and again by customers like DHL and YMX, more companies are turning to Orange to help electrify their operations – but getting adequate charging to their truck depots has slowed that growth.

“Limits on grid capacity are the most significant source of delay, especially when installing DC fast chargers,” writes Esther Conrad, Research Manager for the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University. “Multiple jurisdictions, both large and small, reported long delays on the part of the utility to provide adequate electricity to a site. Timeframes can be on the order of months or even multiple years for large installations.”

Months or years is more than enough time for a skittish customer to second-guess an expensive vehicle fleet purchase, so Kurt Neutgens did what he apparently does best: found an engineering solution that was laser-focused on the problem, and acted.

Orange EV formed a new division called Optigrid, bought FreeWire’s battery-backed DC fast charging back from the brink, and repackaged it as the Orange Juicer to specifically address the problems facing fleets struggling to get adequate grid power to their sites.

The result is an EV charging solution that’s perfect for the way terminal trucks operate, and one that can be up and running in a matter of weeks instead of months or years.

“Fleet operators are tired of waiting on infrastructure that doesn’t match their electrification schedule,” said Tyler Phillipi, CEO of OptiGrid. “The Orange Juicer gives them the power to deploy today, with charging performance that rivals high-capacity systems but requires just a fraction of the grid input.”

The first Orange Juicers are expected to reach customer sites in Q4 of this year.

Electrek’s Take

Despite the progress made in recent years, there are still some wacky assumptions being made out there – from the idea that you must have on-site DC fast charging to successfully deploy an EV fleet to the even wackier notion that you need a dedicated charger for each EV. Orange, on the hand, doesn’t make such sweeping statements. Instead, they’re listening to customers’ needs, understanding what really needs to happen in order to successfully deploy their products, and delivering a better TCO with lower costs … even without government incentives.

“In a two-shift operation over a 10-year period, our customers are experiencing a $500,000 benefit per truck,” Neutgens told Freight Waves. “That’s full price, no incentives.”

Over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, we had a chance to talk to Kurt ahead of last year’s ACT Expo for clean trucking. On the show (available here), Kurt explained how his experience at Ford helped inform his design ideology, and that the Orange EV was designed to be cost competitive with diesel options, even without subsidies.

Give it a listen, then let us know what you think of Orange EV’s holistic electrification solution for logistics fleets in the comments.

SOURCE | IMAGES: OptiGrid, via Charged EV, FreightWaves.

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The Sindh government in Pakistan has just launched a bold new initiative aimed at transforming mobility for women: a fleet of free pink electric scooters for female students and working women. Called the Free Pink EV Scooty Scheme, the program is designed to offer women across the province a safer, more dignified, and cost-effective way to get to school or work without relying on crowded, often unsafe public transportation.

Like many countries in the region, Pakistan is a deeply patriarchal society, not historically known for gender equality or freedom. That has meant that despite women technically having equal standing under the law, they often face significant challenges accessing safe and reliable transportation, let alone gaining higher education or entering the workforce.

Announced by Sindh Transport Minister Sharjeel Memon, the initiative goes beyond transportation to empower women seeking to enroll in education or join the workforce in the nation’s second-largest province.

Eligible participants include women who are permanent residents of Sindh, hold a valid driver’s license (car or motorcycle), and are either employed or in school. Winners will be selected via a public, lottery-style balloting system conducted in front of media and overseen by multiple government departments. To ensure safety, selected applicants will also need to pass a road skills test before riding off.

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“We have ensured a transparent and merit-based selection process so that the maximum number of women can benefit,” said Sindh Minister of Transport Sharjeel Memon, who emphasized that the project will cut commuting costs, save time, and increase safety for women on the move.

But the program doesn’t stop at just handing over keys. It includes full registration, insurance, helmets, and even rider training. Riders will also have access to an expanding network of EV charging stations throughout Sindh, making this a fully supported electric mobility solution.

By investing in personal electric transportation for women, the government hopes to improve access to education and employment, reduce reliance on gas-powered public transport, and promote sustainability. It’s a major step for a region where mobility remains a significant barrier to opportunity for many women, and one that may serve as a model for similar programs across the Middle East, South Asia, and beyond.

Electrek’s Take

I think the fact that electric scooters are being used as a tool to provide transportation equality and increased accessibility is a great thing here, and highlights the importance of these types of vehicles in the broader mobility ecosystem. The whole “let’s give the women a bunch of pink scooters” definitely sounds like an idea thought up by a man, but I think their hearts were in the right place.

In much of Pakistan, especially in conservative and rural areas, women face significant challenges in accessing safe and reliable transportation. Public transport can be overcrowded, unsafe, or socially restrictive for women, which in turn limits their access to education and employment opportunities. By offering these free e-scooters, the government is trying to empower women with greater autonomy and freedom of movement, thereby increasing their participation in both the academic and economic spheres.

There are obviously huge strides that still need to be made in many similar countries in order for women to feel safe when out of the home, let alone have access to employment and educational opportunities, but it sounds like this program is working towards addressing those issues.

Note: The lead image is AI-generated, but then again, so is the Sindh Government’s image. So we’re just sort of sticking with the theme, there.

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