innogy consulting Named Finalist for NYCx Challenge - Seeking to Replace All Gas-Powered Vehicles in New York City

innogy consulting, a leading global energy-focused management consulting firm announced that it has been named a finalist for New York City's "NYCx Climate Action Challenge" program with partner Chinatown Bureau. The NYCx Climate Action Challenge dares private industry to develop and deliver solutions to scale electric vehicle charging hubs within the city and accelerating the use of electric vehicles citywide. Announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio in late 2017, the Climate Action Challenge is part of the larger NYCx program which seeks to engage technology companies to partner with the city to deliver new technologies that address pressing issues such as climate change and transportation access while increasing jobs and supporting a growing cleantech economy.

"innogy consulting and Chinatown Bureau are extremely proud to be amongst the innovative finalists in New York City's Climate Action Challenge," said Oliver Riedel, Managing Director with innogy consulting's U.S. headquarters in Boston, MA. "Forming a unique collaboration with a collection of partners, including Chinatown Bureau and a VR experience from Garou, we brought together the deep expertise of a global energy company, with the agile operations and mobility expertise of an NYC startup. We want New York City to build platforms on proven charging and Smart City hardware, while applying innovative customer-centric software solutions, and physical hubs to foster meaningful community involvement."

The $40 million proposed plan would take a comprehensive, customer-centric approach including charging hardware throughout the city, a B2C mobility app connecting customers with charging infrastructure, and five community hubs which would offer a variety of services beyond charging stations including public transport, EV valet parking, Wi-Fi connectivity, and local business deals. The plan's five-year rollout will begin by 2020.

According to the Mayor's Office of the Chief Technology Officer, "NYCx is the world's first municipal program to transform urban spaces into hubs for tech collaboration, research, testing, and development. New York City's diverse population, economy, and landscape offer a unique opportunity for technology companies to develop tools that improve the world."

According to figures released by the City of New York, cars and trucks make up 30 percent of the city's greenhouse gas emissions with 90 percent of that figure emitted from private vehicles. As technology has scaled and electric vehicles have become more of a mainstream alternative to gas-powered vehicles, access to public charging station infrastructure has become one of the major obstacles to wider adoption of electric vehicles. While the challenge of transforming an overused and aging New York City grid into a modern platform for EV charging is daunting, the partnership between innogy consulting-a global energy-focused consulting firm, and CTB-a deft and agile startup, is ideally suited to offer a holistic plan to help New York City transform itself. While taking root in NYC, the plan has potential to scale nationwide; it can serve as a blueprint for other cities as they strive to spur increased EV adoption.

innogy consulting | innogyconsult.com

Chinatown Bureau | chinatownbureau.com