Electric vehicle charging pioneer Bob Gell of Gelco Services has died.
Bob managed his company’s technical laboratory in Adelaide South Australia, focusing on battery technology, EV charging infrastructure and new automotive product compliance testing.
His company, which will be led by his son Phil, produces reports on battery validations to OE battery manufacturers and client specifications.
Kevin Campbell, CEO of Digatron Power Electronics, said: “Our condolences go out to the Gell family and the team at Gelco Services, with the sad passing of Bob.
“Bob and Digatron had a long standing partnership through his company that both sold and serviced our equipment in Australia. Bob will be sadly missed as a partner and as a friend. He was a true gentleman, a scholar and a friend.”
Bob started at lead-acid battery company GNB Industrial Power in 1989, working for the then leading Australian roadside assistance battery installers Marshall Batteries.
He then worked within the R&D department of GNB, developing batteries to gain a longer lifespan in extreme temperatures.
He became national manager for commercial sales, and worked there until about 2003, when he went to manage Club Assist Australia, taking care of their global training and battery roll-out programs for the USA and Europe markets at the time.
After a brief 10-week retirement trial in 2011, he needed to do something, this is when Gelco started, focussing on automotive battery consultancy, then validations and testing services.
Over the years in Gelco he pioneered the installation of the first three DC electric vehicle fast chargers in Australia in 2011, and then grew Gelco to cover automotive battery services, before moving into storage, mobile power solutions and E-Bike batteries.
He taught many peoople over the years, and was an ideas sounding board for many.
