Now, street lights that charge electric cars

One of the biggest setbacks for electric cars has been the problem of charging. With few stations around topping up the car’s batteries might be a task, thus limiting the wider uptake of electric vehicles. But, BMW hopes to change this scenario by fitting charging stations onto pre-existing street lights.

This new system was announced by the Bavarian carmaker last year, but was demonstrated this year in Oxford, UK. The two prototypes of the ‘Light and Charge’ system already exist outside BMW’s headquarters and currently the company plans to roll it out on a larger scale.

Rather than having to install new individual charging stations in cities, the Light and Charge system works by integrating energy-efficient LED lights with BMW’s ChargeNow technology that can be fitted onto current lighting systems already in place. 

Customers would then be able to pay for the electricity through a control panel on which they can swipe a charge card. BMW are also investigating a way in which people could pay through an app on their phone.