Ford and Newlab, an expert community of innovators and designers who create transformative technology, recently revealed the five startup choices that will take part in the new Mobility Studio. The Mobility Studio is a program designed to support the technological advancements, product collaborations, and business models that foster a cleaner and greener future for transportation around the world.
The program is based within Michigan Central, a new mobility-innovation region established by the Ford Motor Company, and is the second of two studios debuting as part of the initial collaboration announced in 2020 between Newlab and Michigan Central.
Newlab and Ford chose the companies listed below from a competitive and world-wide applicant pool to take part in the Mobility Studio’s first cohort and help solve and problems the fleets encounter as they weigh the benefits of switching to electric vehicles, including better-connected fleet management, supporting more drivers at home, multi-use charging stations, and more:
EVPassport: EVPassport is an innovative electric vehicle charging business that is establishing a distributed fleet-charging ecosystem through a cloud-based, interface-driven hardware and software platform. Fleet owners can easily pay for charging sessions at multi-unit dwellings, all while offering their drivers a conflict-free payment experience to charge any electric vehicle without requiring an additional app or digital account.
Autofleet: Autofleet is a vehicle-as-a-service platform that helps companies, organizations, and municipalities optimize vehicle fleet management operations, deliver new mobility services with their existing vehicles, and plan strategic shifts in production, like with electrification. The platform focuses on fleet operations, breaking the dependence on driver decision making, and was established to achieve the benefits of an autonomous fleet.
Fermata Energy: Fermata offers a comprehensive solution that helps electric vehicles receive power from and provide power back to the grid and to buildings by integrating software, hardware options, and expert knowledge. Fermata Energy wants to transform electric vehicles into energy storage assets that fight climate change, improve resilience, and substantially reduce the cost to own a vehicle.
Rhombus Energy Solutions: Rhombus creates new electric grid infrastructure, energy distribution and management systems, and cutting-edge charging solutions to improve the adoption of electric vehicles. Rhombus develops bidirectional charging networks for electric passenger cars and high-power electric fleets – including as buses, garbage trucks and delivery vehicles – along with energy management applications, power conversion, storage systems, and microgrid applications to maximize the efficient, clean energy distribution capabilities of electric vehicles.
SparkCharge: Through SparkCharge’s mobile app, “Currently,” subscribers can have the charge delivered to their vehicle on the spot, utilizing SparkCharge’s portable, modular charging unit, The Roadie. Currently is operating in Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with plans to expand to several more cities soon. You can download the Currently app today for both iOS and Android.
For more information about Ford’s great all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, look no further than Dunphy Ford in Philadelphia. Take a look through our available inventory online, and contact us by email, phone, or visit in-person today!
