EV charger robot developed by Michigan startup draws international interest

At the Assembly Garage in downtown Detroit, a small, boxy robot hums across the floor of the Detroit Smart Parking Lab, stopping beside an electric vehicle. Within minutes, the robot is charging the car’s battery — completely free of any stationary outlet or charger.

IonDynamics Energy, an energy storage and EV charging infrastructure company, is working to bring their EV charger robots to you. 

IonDynamics was founded in January 2024 by Chris Huang, Jeff Liu, Ruit Tang and Josh Bitterman with the goal of modernizing EV grid charging technology — as well as eliminating the costs associated with EV charging infrastructure — by providing alternative charging solutions.

FlashBots, IonDynamics’ EV charging robots, are designed to eliminate the cost to parking garages and companies involved in installing expensive EV infrastructure. By deploying FlashBots, a property owner could, in theory, save money with a mobile charging solution.

“We're still seeing costs of like $100,000 to $150,000 per [direct-current] fast charging station, and a lot of that is because of the electrical upgrades and constructions, not even necessarily the equipment itself,” said Bitterman, vice president of business development.

The FlashBot equipment allows the robot to become the power source, which reduces upfront installation construction work, and creates more flexibility where people can put EV charging infrastructure. The device is equipped with a 104-hour kilowatt battery, capable of charging a vehicle with a direct connection or through one of IonDynamics’ FlashHub charging grids, which can charge up to 12 vehicles at once.

The company is looking for clients such as parking garages or companies that are interested in lower cost electric charging options.

In June, the startup expanded to the Detroit Smart Parking Lab, which is located at the Assembly Garage at 1701 W. Lafayette Boulevard. IonDynamics received a $30,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which allows it to utilize the lab for its research and development through December, though the company is looking for avenues to continue working in the space, Bitterman told Crain’s Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News.

Working at the Detroit Smart Parking Lab has helped the company continue to grow. The space allows the founders to work alongside others with common goals and gives them a space to showcase their work.

The Detroit Smart Parking Lab has helped the company foster connections across the world.

“We're getting such international visibility now at a site like the Detroit Smart Parking Lab, and it's yielding conversations and opportunities all over the United States and also in Europe as well,” Bitterman said.

While in the midst of raising its first seed round, IonDynamics has another charging pilot at ZalaZone, a vehicle proving ground in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. The company wants to have multiple commercial product deployments beginning next year and are already having conversations with companies in the United Kingdom, France and Spain, Bitterman said.

IonDynamics is also partnering with the city of Detroit for its new public transportation pilot program. The company uses its robots at the Detroit Smart Parking Lab to charge the Connect AV shuttle service’s autonomous electric vehicle fleet. The five-vehicle Connect AV shuttle fleet charges using the FlashHub charging grid.

The startup, of Novi, Mich., is still in its pre-production phase but has big goals, Bitterman said. The four founders are the company's only employees but have hopes to build out its project management and support teams.

“We're all from Detroit, and this is a very special place,” Bitterman said. “It's not the first place people would think of when it comes to EV charging or battery technology, but given that this is home for us and I think the momentum behind this tech hub innovation in Detroit, it just married up well with the timing.”