SparkCharge Gears Up to Bring Electric Vehicles On-Demand Charging
*By Amanda Weston*
As the electric vehicle movement takes off, SparkCharge is gearing up to save drivers from "range anxiety" with deliverable charging in 2019.
"There's this huge gap in the market in terms of alleviating that pain over where, when, how you charge your electric vehicle," SparkCharge CEO Joshua Aviv told Cheddar Wednesday. "I realized, essentially, if you could allow an electric vehicle owner to charge anytime and anywhere they want it, you would see this huge growth in electric vehicles, and I think that's what the world needs."
[SparkCharge](https://sparkcharge.io/) will allow users to order a portable charger delivery via an app, arriving in as little as 10 minutes.
"If you own an electric vehicle, instead of having to hop off your trip or deviate from your route to find a charging station, charging stations will actually be delivered to you along that route, taking the guessing out of, 'Where do I charge my electric vehicle if I'm going to take a road trip?'" Aviv said. "You'll always know where you're going to be charged and the best part is you don't have to go looking for it. It gets brought directly to you."
Aviv said the goal is to expand SparkCharge's reach by working with as many partners as possible, like Uber and Lyft. By working with partners, Aviv believes SparkCharge can create "a massive amount of change" in the way EVs are perceived.
Tesla remains a top name in the electric vehicle industry but has been plagued with [production and delivery issues](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/31/tesla-4q-2018-production-and-delivery-numbers.html).
That's not the case with SparkCharge.
"We don't really have a lot of manufacturing hiccups or issues," Aviv said. "We're actually excited because in 2019, we'll actually be rolling out our product to the market. Our products are manufactured 99.9 percent here in the United States. So all of our suppliers and manufacturers, we're able to work with on a daily basis, and that really alleviates a lot of the manufacturing pain."
But SparkCharge doesn't plan to stop with just cars. Aviv said he's also thinking about on-demand energy for homes as well, to help in the event of power outages or shortages.
The company plans to launch across the country in the third quarter of 2019.
"We're excited," Aviv said. "We're ready to roll."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/sparkcharge-gears-up-to-relieve-electric-vehicle-drivers-range-anxiety).
Carl Tobias, professor of law at the University of Richmond, joins Cheddar News to talk about how Johnson & Johnson funded experiments on mostly Black men comparing the effects of talc and asbestos on their skin.
Amazon unveiled its new mobile app called Amp as a direct competitor to Clubhouse, allowing people to host live radio shows. Although it is still in beta, users can join the waitlist from the iOS store.
President Biden announced a ban on Russian oil and natural gas imports to the U.S. in response to its invasion of Ukraine, a move he warned could lead to an even greater surge in gas prices. The ban is prompting a conversation about the current oil production levels in the U.S. and whether or not the industry can ramp up production to soften the blow to American families at the gas pump. Clark Williams-Derry, Energy Finance Analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, breaks down the state of the U.S. oil industry and how the ban might impact production levels here at home.
PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Starbucks are the latest American food brands to have halted business operations in Russia after having faced scrutiny and criticism for originally failing to do so amid the country's invasion of Ukraine.
As Russia intensifies its war on Ukraine, President Biden announced a ban on oil imported from the aggressor nation. Critics of Russia have said this would be the best way to force Putin to pull back, but curbs on Russian oil exports are expected to send already skyrocketing oil and gas prices even higher, further impacting consumers, businesses, financial markets, and the global economy. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Energy Workforce and Technology Council, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "It's certainly going to increase pricing, but it is the right thing to do," she said. "The industry itself has already pulled out of the significant portion of its operations in Russia."
As airlines recover from COVID-19 and the industry becomes more competitive than ever, low-fare carrier Breeze Airlines is offering 35 new routes and reduced prices for its first-class experiences. CEO David Neeleman joined Cheddar News to talk about the rollout of services amid plenty of headwinds including high fuel costs. "We can limit a lot of costs because we're a technology company that happens to fly airplanes," he noted.
Despite women as a whole being among the groups most impacted by pandemic job losses, homesharing platform Airbnb reported that women hosts brought in $12 billion in revenue last year. Catherine Powell, Airbnb's global head of hosting, joined Cheddar News to discuss how women hosting has become a huge asset for the company. "Last year 21 percent more women joined the platform than men," she said. "So they are joining the platform. They are being successful. They're more super hosts, and they're doing incredibly well."
