App May Make EV Chargers More Reliable in TX

As electric vehicles become increasingly commonplace, one company has patented technology to counter criticisms of charging reliability.

Xeal, based in New York City, strives to make clean energy self-sufficient with its mission to “stop climate change without bothering people,” per its website. The Dallas Express spoke to Xeal’s chief revenue officer, Eric Roseman, about the company’s EV app and the impact the technology could have on Texas.

Roseman, who operates out of Dallas, is overseeing the nationwide expansion of the business. He noted that Xeal aims to “remove the friction that comes with environmental solutions, making it that much more easy, seamless, and enjoyable to go green.”

Removing the friction involves addressing the reliability issue of EV charging stations. One in four EV chargers is non-functional, according to a study conducted by The Wall Street Journal. As such, Xeal created a solution using advanced technology and an EV phone app that works with Level 2 chargers to avoid the often frustrating connection, screens, and payment reader issues.

“Xeal uses encrypted, time-bound tokens on your phone that bring your information directly to the charger –- whereas all the other providers require IT infrastructure to authenticate and process payments,” explained Roseman.

The company eliminates and bypasses the potential breakdown of the telecom infrastructure. Users download the app for free on their phones to pay for their electricity.

“The interaction is purely between the phone and the charger, and that communication handshake is our patented protocol. … We cut out the biggest pain point of why chargers don’t function,” explained Roseman.

The growing demand for Level 2 chargers nationwide is daunting.

“The U.S. needs 11 million Level 2 ports by 2030 to meet the demand, and we’re still somewhere south of a million Level 2. So, we still have over 90% of greenfield development to get to the expectation,” said Roseman, adding that the demand for electric vehicles “has grown 150% year over year.”

Roseman explained that Texas is the company’s number one market, noting “phenomenal developer and owner clients here in Texas — groups like Valiant Residential, JPI, Lincoln Property Company, and Toll Brothers.”

Xeal expects to increase the number of chargers in Texas by “another 50% in this year alone,” said Roseman, explaining that the Dallas, Austin, and Houston markets have driven growth.

The company partners with large, multi-family apartment communities and commercial work locations, such as hospitals, to install EV chargers. Xeal sells the hardware and oversees the software. Chargers are “like a vending machine for electricity,” and, as Roseman explained, “typically the building owner is able to recoup their cost over a couple of years because of the utilization.”

Roseman said of those who are hesitant to go electric with their vehicles, “I don’t think it needs to be an either-or. Many families are moving to one electric vehicle and one gas-guzzling car.”

“An electric vehicle is a phenomenal solution for daily commutes — maybe it’s not the best for long road trips to Colorado yet, but the cars that are coming to market, and what stands out most in Texas, is you’re seeing those big grizzly trucks that are going electric,” added Roseman.

“The solutions coming to the Texas market are meeting the demographic demands for the rough-and-tough offering,” Roseman said.