Better than Bond: The magic of Light and Charge high-efficiency LED lighting

BMW has long been associated with luxury and prestige. They’re a favourite among the big screen’s top-secret spy operatives as evidenced by The Bourne Supremacy, the Mission Impossible franchise, and even the odd Bond movie. But if owning the same vehicle as Ethan Hunt or James Bond is not enough to get your motor running, perhaps hearing about BMW’s latest electric car initiative will. If nothing else, it may inspire a broader perspective of the brand beyond its typical association with car chases and elite status.

Last November, BMW unveiled its ‘Light and Charge’ prototype at the Eurocities energy conference in Munich. Light and Charge is a combination high-efficiency LED street lighting system and electric vehicle charging station BMW is promoting as an option to help expand the electric vehicle market. According to Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, “Light and Charge is a simple and innovative solution which aims to seamlessly integrate a smoothly functioning charging station network into the urban landscape.”

The Light and Charge streetlights are equipped with modular LED lights. One or two lights provide adequate side street or residential lighting, but switching to four lights will sufficiently illuminate major roadways at night. Light and Charge connects with standard electric vehicle (EV) connectors and has a simple, integrated control panel for easy charging. Electricity is billed to the user via the BMW i ChargeNow network, which currently serves approximately 18,000 charging stations worldwide, with plans to integrate the network with the Hubject e-roaming platform to further optimize charging options for European customers. The Light and Charge system has been designed to integrate with these major platforms so that the charging stations may be used by as many drivers possible, regardless or vehicle model or electricity provider. Says Schwarzenbauer, “The BMW i ChargeNow card already offers access to the world’s largest network of charging stations, and now it gives us great pleasure, in cooperation with our partners, to further expand this network with the help of the Light and Charge project. After all, a seamless charging infrastructure is essential if we want to see more electric vehicles on the road in our cities in the future.”

Currently, there are two prototype Light and Charge streetlights installed at BMW Welt, the brand’s multi-functional customer experience and exhibition facility located in Munich, Germany. Testing of the system will continue with plans to integrate the charging station technology into existing lighting networks in Munich. There are also demonstration units installed at the company’s Mini plant in Oxford, England. Oxfordshire County Council has commented that the project is a “neat solution,” but it is not yet known if the system will be installed and made available to the public anytime soon.

In addition to providing an efficient street lighting alternative with the modular LED system, the charging stations help raise the status of electric vehicles as a viable alternative to fuel-dependent vehicles by alleviating ‘range anxiety’ — the fear of being limited to a reduced travel range due to a lack of recharging stations.

Whether you’re a BMW enthusiast or not, you have to admit, the Light and Charge station is a pretty smart combination of green technologies. Just imagine: If charging stations were as ubiquitous as street lights, the future of electric vehicles would be more believable than a car equipped with surface-to-air missiles or re-inflating tires… Take that, Bond!