In this week's DeltaHacks XI, a challenge was given by Reserve Power to build solutions that revolutionize how we interact with and manage sustainable energy. This challenge inspired us to tackle an upcoming problem where EV charging stations are not user-friendly for the owners of sustainable vehicles.

LocatEV is designed to provide Electric Vehicle owners with an easy, convenient, and reliable way to find nearby EV charging stations and make secure payments.

The app is built with a focus on enhancing the user experience by integrating all necessary features into one platform, eliminating the need for multiple apps and offering complete convenience for EV users.

LocatEV stands out by offering more than just a way to find the nearest EV charging station. Unlike other apps, LocatEV provides real-time pricing and charger type details for each station, giving users full transparency and control. Our integrated payment system removes the need for multiple station-specific apps, simplifying the charging process. With a strong commitment to user privacy and security, we support reliable payment options like Apple Pay and credit cards. We deliberately avoided blockchain payments due to limited charger compatibility, ensuring a more accessible and user-friendly solution.

We used React.js and Tailwind CSS for the frontend and integrated the Google Maps API and Places API to display nearby EV charging stations with a Python backend.

Originally, we were going to develop our platform on IOS using Flutter, but upon discovering that it would not be feasible in the given time limit with our experience, we decided to put ours into a web service.

We successfully demonstrated and developed the proof of concept that we envisioned at the start of the hackathon.

We are also proud to have created a product that is not just complex or flashy, but truly useful and convenient for users. As two members of our team are EV owners ourselves, it was especially rewarding to build something that directly addresses the challenges we face in finding and paying for charging stations. We understand firsthand the difficulties of maintaining our EVs, making this solution even more meaningful to us.

Besides learning new technologies and new skills, we were able to learn how pivotal user experience and privacy of data are for the comfort and safety of our users.