Kempower approves forensic EV charging cable theft solution
Designed to address a surge in EV charging cable theft, CableGuard uses a high-tech cut-resistant sleeve and a unique forensic marking system to deter and identify offenders. According to Formula Space, if a charging cable protected by CableGuard is tampered with, a clearly identifiable liquid is released under high pressure, which comes into contact with the perpetrator and any objects in their vicinity. The liquid is visible under UV light.
The solution is now fully approved by Kempower for the British, Irish and continental European markets. The Finnish DC fast-charging specialist confirmed that the product is compatible with Kempower Satellites, Station Chargers and Movable Chargers using CCS2 cables up to 300A and 5 metres, and CHAdeMO cables up to 5 metres. The approval follows an expedited eight-week testing process.
CableGuard can be retrofitted without cable removal and is designed to have minimal impact on handling or user experience. Formula Space reports that forensic marking systems achieve a 100 per cent conviction rate when used in court and a 98 per cent reduction in repeat attacks on marked infrastructure.
“A key element to driving forward the EV transition is instilling in people a feeling of trust and confidence in available charging infrastructure. Rising crime involving charging cables is damaging both to EV charging businesses and to public perceptions and experience,” said Lee Barnett, Solutions & Service Manager, UK & Ireland at Kempower. “We chose to lead the way and become Formula Space’s testing partner for CableGuard.”
Vern Pollard, Director of Formula Space, added: “The testing of CableGuard was a crucial stage of the development process for us because we wanted to be sure that it was compatible with a wide variety of charging infrastructure. We needed a testing partner with significant experience and expertise with physical charging infrastructure, which is why we trusted Kempower to fulfil this need.”
Kempower may be the first OEM to use the forensic anti-theft solution, however, it is not the first company to do so. As reported, CabaleGuard was developed in cooperation with British CPO InstaVolt, which also uses the system.
The number of companies looking to include anti-theft devices is growing. For example, British company Evolt Charging introduced ‘Cable Alarm’ earlier this year , which detects when a cable is being cut. Chargepoint and Tesla also introduced cut-resistant cables to combat vandalism, just to name a few.
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