EV chargers don't have to look like parking meters. In collaboration with Covestro — a global leader in high-tech polymer materials — we designed a public charging concept that feels like it belongs in the city the way a tree does.
Covestro challenged us to define the EV charging experience of the future. Not just hardware — a whole service, from locating a charger to completing a session. The form question: what visual language communicates innovation, sustainability, and ease in an urban public space?
The benchmark was low. Most public chargers are an afterthought — functional, generic, invisible in the worst way. We wanted the opposite: something that makes the street better just by being in it.
One idea drove everything: a seamless blend of technology and nature. The form draws from organic growth — flowing lines, directional geometry, the logic of a vine climbing toward light. Not a box. Not a pillar. Something with intention.
The name came early and stayed: Energy Vine. It captured exactly what the design felt like — living, growing, effortlessly integrated.
Working with Covestro's materials team was one of the most interesting parts of this project. Their advanced polymer portfolio made it possible to achieve forms that traditional manufacturing couldn't — translucency, precision surface texture, structural lightness, UV stability.
The material doesn't just hold the shape. It tells the story. You can see the sustainability narrative in how the surface catches light. That's not an accident — it's design.
The hardware is only half the experience. We designed a companion app that handles the full charging journey: finding available chargers on a map, initiating and monitoring sessions, receiving real-time sustainability data, and managing payment — all in one calm, premium interface.
The service design work underneath this involved mapping the full user journey — from "my battery is at 20%" to "charge complete" — and finding every anxiety point, every friction, every moment where the experience could be better.
"A seamless blend of tech and nature: Energy Vine."
Project concept statementA fully realised concept — industrial design, material specification, UX/UI system, and service design — that redefines what a public EV charger can be. And a research foundation that positions Covestro to expand Energy Vine into a scalable ecosystem.
Sustainability infrastructure doesn't have to be invisible. It can be beautiful.