Buyer's guide mobile charging solution

The right mobile charging station suitable for you!

Going on the road with an electric vehicle? That is still a challenge for many. To be able to charge anywhere, you need a mobile charging station. With this, you can charge at almost any socket and with any electric car with the help of the associated adapters. Charging at a Schuko socket or at various CEE sockets is no longer a problem. In this comparison, we look at 2 of the most popular alternatives and present them to you with their advantages and disadvantages. This way, you can choose the variant that suits you best.

Juice Booster 2

	Advantages		Disadvantages
	High security		No reference to approval requirement with power grid operator according to VDE-AR-N 4100:2019-04
	High reliability		No app
	Very robust & stably built
	Coded adapters for different sockets, connectors high-quality and solidly processed

The Juice Booster is one of the most popular mobile charging stations on the market and has earned the Swiss manufacturer Juice Technology an image of high quality and reliability. The clean workmanship and high quality can be felt immediately when touching. With the Juice Booster 2 you can charge with up to 32 A 3-phase and thus achieve a charging power of 22 kW. Even if most vehicles can not currently absorb this power, the Juice Booster 2 is thus prepared for the future. The Juice Booster 2 is very robust and consists of a sturdy aluminum housing. The Juice Booster 2 can therefore also be placed on the ground and used for charging. For this he also has a Overrun protection of up to 3 tons. This quality of workmanship is also found in the Juice Connector again. The adapters included in the set are connected to it. The plugs are all a perfect fit. The household sockets also have a temperature sensor that interrupts charging if the temperature at the plug connection is too high.

What also makes the Juice Booster so popular are its versatile uses. As 3-in-1 solution it can be used as a wallbox at home with the appropriate wall mount. For on the road it is then removed from the holder and as a third option it can be used as a type 2 charging cable with the additional type 2 plug (included in EV and Master Traveller set). Everything together is perfectly stored in the supplied case, does not fly around in the car and can also be firmly attached by Velcro in the trunk.

In addition to its robustness and practicality, the Juice Booster also scores with a high level of safety. It is equipped as standard with a residual current circuit breaker against occurring fault currents (alternating current 30mA and direct current 6mA).

NRGkick

	Advantages		Disadvantages
	App for the cell phone with control and loading reports		Adapter & carrying case must be purchased separately
	Updateable & thus future-proof		Haptics & materials
	Also with Sim card for data transfer even without WLAN and Bluetooth

As an alternative to the top dog "Juice Booster" we present the NRGkick as an alternative. The mobile charging station scores particularly well in terms of communication, safety and intelligence. The Austrian manufacturer offers an app for the cell phone that can be used to control the NRGKick. Communication takes place via Bluetooth or also via the home WLAN. Optionally, the NRGkick can also send information to its owner from anywhere via an integrated SIM card. Other digital strengths include detailed information about costs and charging processes. Charging reports can be easily generated over a selected period of time. In addition, the NRGkick is updateable and thus future-proof.

But NRGkick also offers innovations in safety. If you disconnect a plug before the end of the charging process, the NRGkick recognizes this and cuts the current so that no electric arc is generated. But it's not just contacts that are protected, incorrectly connected sockets are also automatically detected and here too the Schuko plug is equipped with a temperature sensor. Further protective measures include blackout protection through autonomous charging management. Through this, the NRGkick detects when the voltage of a network drops and adjusts the charging power.

Juice Booster or NRGkick?

We cannot give a clear recommendation for one of the two alternatives. We can't advise against either. Obviously, the Juice Booster 2 as well as the NRGkick each show many advantages. The two differ significantly in the following points:

The NRGkick is a communication master. It has far more intelligent features than the Juice Booster 2. The app allows you to create charging reports and control the charging station. The safety features are also a clear plus. However, if you are looking for a reliable and, above all, high-quality charging station that always fulfills its function, the Juice Booster 2 is the best choice.

KfW promotion

Both mobile charging solutions are also available with a KfW subsidy. In the case of the Juice Booster 2, this solution is called Charger easy 1 and comes with an additional box that is permanently installed on the wall. This box can be used to start charging with an RFID card and the charging current is limited to 11 kW to meet the requirements of KfW. With the NRGkick KfW Select, a stationary bracket must be attached to the wall. This also limits the charging power to 11 kW and makes the NRGkick a stationary charging station.