(Editor’s note: This post on SoltiQ is part of our Tech Tuesday series. Dispatches covers tech because so many of our highly skilled internationals are engineers and entrepreneurs.)
When it comes to its geographical location on the map of Europe, Croatia hit the jackpot. Its positioning provides this country with an absolute wealth of natural advantages of which few other countries can boast. You can go to the beach and swim in the cleanest seawater in Europe and then ski in the green mountains of Gorski Kotar, all in the same day. It’s home to the Amazon of Europe, while you can enjoy sun-scorched Mediterranean scenes akin to those of Greece along its 1,100 miles of coastline.
The latter brings me to my point – it’s no secret that Croatia gets a lot of sunlight hours.
In fact, long hot summers here can become oppressive. The sun’s rays that beat down on this country are that strong and unrelenting.
They can also be utilized.
Playing the solar trump card
With the strong European turn towards sustainability, caring for the environment and of course, the European Union’s Green transition, this God-given solar trump card that sees tourists flock to Croatia each summer can be exploited in more ways than one.
Electric vehicles have gone from something only the upper echelon of society could afford to drive around in (I’m talking about Tesla here, of course, unironically named after the inventor born right here in Croatia), to something you now see more and more frequently on the roads. Those vehicles require charging stations and there are never enough.
As they slowly pop up alongside motorways and at more and more fuel stations, innovation is being born alongside them. In comes a man from Croatia, Tomislav Ivanić of a company called Bravarija Ivanic, located close to Zagreb. His company has created SoltiQ (SOL-tic), the first mobile, entirely autonomous solar-powered electric vehicle charging station in the entire EU. And it all happened rather quickly, at least on the surface.
Back in February of this year, Bravarija Ivanić’s prototype was bandied around investment communities and did the rounds in other business circles. Its potential was realized and the talented young engineers working for the company have since come up with, designed and created the SoltiQ autonomous electric car charging station, entirely solar-powered, which they say is twice as powerful as their prototype.
“From the very top of Velebit to the beaches of Lastovo,” states the SoltiQ website, referencing the mobility this innovative piece of equipment offers its users in that they could charge their vehicles on the top of a rugged Croatian mountain range or on one of the beaches on far-flung archipelagos such as Lastovo.
The foldable SoltiQ charging station can be connected to public systems or private electric grids in order to fill up batteries using a cheaper tariff and then use that energy wherever it suits you. It isn’t just cars that can use the sun’s power to charge up with SoltiQ, either. In the company’s initial B2B approach, clients can use the chargers for e-bikes and e-scooters.
The tech
An AI camera and weather station-esque sensors also allow users a full insight into potential threats from the elements. In addition, a modular SoltiQ design and connectivity includes a mobile app through which users can connect, then manage remotely up to 30 SoltiQ units.
The charging rate is 28.8 kilowatt hours, which matches fixed charging stations. Max solar charge is 2,200 watts. The maximum stored energy is 57.6 kWh, so each station has the power to recharge multiple EVs before the station itself needs to recharge.
The entire structure weighs around 1,200 kilograms, with all of the batteries and solar panels included, and is the size of a parking space. Though still in the prototype stage, the units are projected to sell for between 20,000 euros and 30,000 euros.
It only makes sense that in a country that is drenched with so many hours of sunshine on an annual basis for Croatian minds to come up with this creation.
The general lack of electric car charging stations is still a big obstacle in the EU’s rapidly unfolding green transition and all of the plans related to it. It also remains a barrier to many drivers who would otherwise gladly purchase such a vehicle.
This piece of Croatian innovation could be what pushes many people into purchasing an electric car, as the infrastructure is completely mobile and accessible to all users, whenever and wherever – literally.
Tomislav Ivanić said that conquering foreign markets is now the goal for the SoltiQ charging station, as is the attraction of more capital to take this Croatian innovation global.
Read more about Croatian tech here in Dispatches’ archives.
Lauren Simmonds
Lauren Simmonds is the editor of Total Croatia News, the largest English language portal in Croatia. She lives in Zagreb, Croatia, and is a translator, content writer, interpreter and the co-author of "Croatia - A Survival Kit for Foreigners," which was published in 2022.
