Project at a glance
How Petalite Used 3D Animation to Showcase 1,000kW (1MW) Charging Technology to Global Investors
Petalite needed to demonstrate the various key features of their 1,000kW SDC charging technology to global stakeholders.
We transformed complex engineering CAD data into a high-fidelity narrative using Physically Based Rendering (PBR) materials/textures and custom ray tracing lighting rigs, showcasing modular scalability that photography simply couldn’t capture.
Results
Deliverables
- 2 x 4K Engineering Animation
- HD Home Page Animation
- 2 x 4K Explainer Animation
- 6 x 6K Lifestyle Stills
- 7 x 4K Studio Renders
Key Features
- Driver Experience
- Charge Point Availability
- Modularity
- Scalability
- LED Lighting
- UI experience
- Cable Movement
Use Case
- Investor-Ready Marketing Suite
- Raising investment
- Launching before manufacturing
- Website hero
- Paid Socials
- Trade show hero content
CLIENT
Petalite
PRODUCED BY
XO3D
CATEGORY
Industrial & Engineering
SECTOR
Green Energy / EV Infrastructure
PROJECT TYPE
Technical Product Launch
SERVICES
SOFTWARE USED
Cinema 4D
Adobe Creative Cloud
WRITTEN BY
Project Brief.
THE CHALLENGE
Evolving Product Design.
Petalite needed to launch a multi-site infrastructure project while the product design was still in active development.
We were tasked with creating a suite of assets—from white-box renders to cinematic animations—that could communicate complex energy management to global stakeholders before a single physical unit was even manufactured.
THE SOLUTION
Engineering-Grade Accuracy.
We moved beyond ‘visuals’ by integrating directly with Petalite’s raw CAD data. This allowed for 100% technical accuracy, even as the design evolved.
By using custom ray-tracing and PBR (Physical Based Rendering) workflows, we ensured the internal mechanics looked as tangible and reliable as the exterior casing.
THE RESULT
Investor-Ready Assets.
XO3D delivered a visual ecosystem that transformed complex engineering into a clear, investor-ready narrative.
This differentiation allowed Petalite to:
- Launched website on schedule while product was still evolving
- Helped stakeholders grasp modular scalability in under 60 seconds
- Reduced back-and-forth approvals with storyboard/animatic alignment
- Produced a full library usable across website + paid social + events
HIGH QUALITY WORK
Client Review.
XO3D were a fantastic team to work with. They met some aggressive time scales and produced high quality work. They understood our brief well and also gave creative input and additional ideas which were great! We’ll certainly work with them again.
Kate Beaumont, Petalite EV Charging Technology
WHAT CHALLENGES WERE THERE DURING PRODUCTION?
Directors Commentary.
During the project, we faced several key challenges.
- Tight Deadlines: Requiring rapid turnaround and efficient decision-making throughout production.
- Evolving Product Design: The charger design continued to evolve as the product was still in development. The assets had to be regularly updated and refined to reflect the latest iterations.
Despite having minimal visual guides for the cable’s behaviour, we achieved a realistic result through:
Close client collaboration.
Rigorous iterative testing.
Meticulous attention to detail.
Director
The Process.
STORYBOARDING & NARRATIVE
Turning complex infrastructure into a clear, investor-ready story
Before animation began, we mapped the full narrative—key messages, camera moments, and the order of information—so the film stayed focused and easy to follow.
Storyboards and a simple animatic aligned stakeholders early, reduced revisions later, and ensured every shot earned its place by explaining function, scale, and value with clarity.
CAD CLEAN-UP & NAMING
From raw engineering data to a clean, animation-ready asset.
We ingested Petalite’s CAD and rebuilt it for production—repairing topology, resolving overlaps, setting real-world scale, and establishing a clear naming and grouping system.
That structure kept the project stable as designs evolved and ensured every component stayed consistent across stills, turntables, and animation.
MATERIALS & LOOKDEV
Physically accurate surfaces that read as premium engineering.
We created a PBR material library that matched intended finishes—metals, plastics, coatings, fasteners, screens—so the product looked credible in close-up and at distance.
Lookdev was refined shot-by-shot to balance realism with clarity, ensuring the internal mechanics felt as tangible as the exterior casing.
LIGHTING RIGS
One lighting system, two worlds: pristine product and real-world context.
We built flexible lighting rigs for both studio-style hero renders and lifestyle environments.
Studio lighting delivered clean form and material separation, while lifestyle setups added believable reflections and atmosphere—without sacrificing legibility of key engineering details.
CABLE MOTION R&D
Realistic cable behaviour that sells the system in seconds.
Cable movement is where EV infrastructure visuals often fall apart—so we treated it as R&D, not an afterthought.
We developed a dedicated motion approach for natural sag, bend radius, weight, and contact, giving each shot a believable “installed” feel and making the product’s interaction points instantly understandable.
DELIVERY FORMATS
Built for launch day and beyond—optimised for every channel.
Final assets were delivered in web-ready and campaign-ready formats, including platform-specific cut-downs for social.
We supplied clean exports for websites, decks, and paid media—so Petalite could launch on schedule and repurpose the visuals across marketing touchpoints without rework.
