__ The Mission

Fleet operators everywhere are under pressure to electrify. 

Vehicles are available. Infrastructure is growing. The weak point is often the driver's front door.

Many van drivers live in flats or streets with no driveway, no wall box, no guarantee of overnight charging. OnCharge wanted to remove that barrier with ZIR0, a rugged portable powerbank drivers could take home like a piece of personal kit.

‍Not another map of distant charge points.
But a charger that travels with the driver.

__ The Insight

Much of today’s infrastructure assumes fixed behaviour. 

Depot chargers work when vehicles return to base. Home chargers work when drivers have off-street parking. For last-mile and gig workers, reality is messier. Shifts end late. Parking is uncertain. An extra trip to find a public charger is the last thing anyone needs.

OnCharge approached the problem from the driver's side. Put serious energy in a unit that lives in the vehicle by day, then comes indoors to charge from a standard socket at night.

‍If charging depends on perfect infrastructure, some drivers never quite fit in.
‍Put the power in their hands and the transition becomes real

__ The Filament Effect

Filament worked with OnCharge to define the architecture and form of ZIR0. 

We tuned proportions, handle positions and stance so one person can tip, roll and position the unit without strain, even in narrow hallways and crowded pavements.

We mapped the daily ritual step by step: where ZIR0 sits in the van, how it undocks, how it crosses a kerb and moves through a front door. Cable routing was designed to avoid tangles and damaged connectors. Status indications are deliberately simple. Drivers see in a moment whether ZIR0 is ready, charging or needs attention.

‍Built around tired hands, busy yards and small flats.
So a bold idea behaves like a practical tool.

__ The Breakthrough

With ZIR0, a driver finishes a shift, undocks the unit, takes it inside and plugs it into a standard socket. 

While they rest, ZIR0 charges. The next day, it returns to the vehicle and quietly tops up the van during stops and routes. Charging starts to feel like charging a phone or laptop: a background habit, not a separate journey.