Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Electrify America to double EV charging network in U.S., Canada


Electrify America announced plans Tuesday to more than double electric charging stations in the United States by 2025. Photo courtesy of Electrify America

July 13 (UPI) -- Electrify America said Tuesday it plans to more than double its U.S. and Canada electrical vehicle charging network by the end of 2025.

The "Boost Plan" expands the number of ultra-fast electric vehicle chargers to more than 10,000 and the number of fast charging stations to 1,800 in the United States and Canada, according to the company's statement.

Electrify America, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group of America, previously planned to expand individual chargers to 3,500 and charging stations to 800 in the United States by the end of 2021. The new commitment will increase that number to 9,500 individual chargers and 1,700 charging stations by the end of 2025.

Under the expansion, Electrify America will also increase its presence in established U.S. regions and add the states of Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming and Vermont, bringing its network to 49 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

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Along with its existing U.S. network, Electrify America will also expand its Electrify Canada charging network from current commitment of 32 stations to more than 100 stations and 500 chargers over the next 4 1/2 years.

"We have decided to double our current charging infrastructure in North America over the next four years to help meet the need for the rapid growth expected of electric vehicles by virtually all the auto manufacturers, and to help make EV adoption more accessible and attractive than ever," Electrify America President and CEO Giovanni Palazzo said in the statement. "We are making this commitment to support the plans by major automakers and the U.S. and Canadian governments to help the transformation to an electric mobility transportation system."

Electrify America previously committed to invest $2 billion over 10 years in electric vehicle infrastructure and education in the United States. The funding is part of a $10 billion settlement with the U.S. government over the diesel emission scandal of 2016.

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The Volkswagen subsidiary added in its statement Tuesday that its integrating battery storage solutions to reduce the impact on the power grid and allow deployment of charging stations in areas where it was not previously feasible.

Electrify America noted that it has installed four stations per week on average since its first charging station opened in May 2018.

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