Steve Smith, CEO of Zerova Technologies Europe, tells us more about the conditions required to drive the electric car market forward.
Steve Smith, CEO of Zerova Technologies Europe
The interview was recorded in 2024 in partnership with 2035 E-Mobility Taiwan.
A few words from...
My name is Steve Smith and I am the CEO of the Zerova Technologies Europe Company.
Could you tell us more about your company ?
Zerova is a company that was formed about three years ago to design and manufacture EV charging solutions.
It is a global company. We are based in Taiwan and we have over 300 employees in 10 different countries. The company was actually formed by our parent company, Phihong Technology, which has been serving the consumer electronics industry for 50 years now.
What is your company's mission ?
Our mission is to put our hardware at the center of charging networks around the world. And the key things about this, is to provide maximum uptime, achieved through high reliability electronics, Additionally, we aim to pursue sustainability by implementing practices such as recycling in the factory, looking after waste materials carefully, regenerating electricity, in our plant. Those kind of objectives.
Is your charging network compatible to all type of vehicules ?
The charging hardware is agnostic. It will drive anything and anywhere in the world, with European standards, American standards, Chinese standards for exemple. We are not operating a network, per se, we are providing the hardware. We are really hardware-focused.
Who is your target audience ?
Our target audience is really CPOs, ChargePoint operators, fleet operators, retailers, energy companies, gas stations… And fundamentally, we are providing either a branded solution or a white label solution.
Actually, a lot of our hardware is out there. About 90 % of what we are shipping is white label. So there is a lot of our hardware out there, which is in other people’s colors and brands. Essentially, we are serving all geographic regions. This is either through local offices or through local service partners.
What are the biggest challenges in sustainable mobility today ?
The way I see it, it is kind of a triangle of problems. There are those three key things:
One is grid availability. Second thing is affordable vehicles. And the third thing is the actual user experience. Once these three things are improved, once you get more readily available grid and more infrastructure, which is incumbent on companies like Zerova to provide the infrastructure… Once all of that improve, then there will be more choice of vehicles, more affordable vehicles on the market, and a seamless user experience.
Once these three things converge, then, I think you have kind of a lift off, an ignition. Then market can accelerate.
Will we go full electric ?
We have got both solutions for quite a long time, for sure. But ultimately, it will be only electric. I’m pretty sure of that.
What is next for Zerova ?
Actually, we are focusing on two main things, in the short to medium term.
One is that we are actually enhancing our high power product profile. So this is the top end. Basically, we are doing DC fast charging, between 60 kilowatts and one megawatt. But we just released a 480 kilowatts 4-Gun simultaneous charging product and integrated product. We are very excited about this. It is pretty much the fastest thing out there for cables. That is a new enhancement to the product profile. Also, alongside that, we are deepening our commitment to emerging markets. We are putting a lot of time in now to Middle East and Africa. We are trying to fulfill the requirements in those regions too, which are very new and nascent, but will be very important in the medium to long term.
What are you favorite modes of transportation ?
I like to walk, but actually, I have one other thing. I really like seeing if I can drop off to sleep in the back of a nice and quiet electric taxi.
