Finally! A charging station company that gets EV drivers don’t want to be stuck out in the elements in the far corner of a parking lot when they refuel.
Electrify America announced a new design vision Thursday for some of its future charging stations that include solar canopies, waiting areas and other customer services.
“Electrify America will be reinventing the look and feel at many of our charging stations to meet and exceed the expectations of customers moving from a gas-powered vehicle to an electric lifestyle,” said Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO of Electrify America said in a news release. “These new designs will help elevate the charging experience for our customers, building on the foundation of our ultra-fast and reliable coast-to-coast network.”
From the news release:
Electrify America is currently adding solar awnings to 400-500 individual chargers at 100 charging stations across the country. In addition to providing shelter from the sun and weather elements, the energy captured by the solar awnings will be utilized to help power the station’s operations.
The company has already installed solar canopies at its flagship charging stations in Baker and Santa Clara, CA. The solar energy from these solar canopies is also routed to the onsite battery energy storage systems onsite, capturing energy to help charge electric vehicles.
Next-Generation Charger
Electrify America will also begin the rollout of a redesigned electric vehicle charger with functional and design features to simplify the customer experience. The chargers with up to 150 and 350 kilowatts of charging power will keep Electrify America’s green glow and continue to stand at an easily recognizable at 8 feet tall.
The next-generation charger will also feature:
– A new design that refines the look and reduces the footprint of the charger.
– A recessed and brighter HMI (human-machine interface) screen to help reduce the glare from sunlight making it easier for customers to view the operational instructions and charging progress.
– A single connector cable with a new cable management system to ease the effort to plug in the cable no matter where the charging port resides on a customer’s EV.
– A reduced footprint of both the charger and power cabinets will allow installation of more equipment in space constrained, urban locations.
Deploying More Than 150 Onsite Battery Energy Systems
The company’s new station design is integrating energy and cost-saving technology to help improve efficiency and make the charging experience more simple and fast. By expanding the deployment of onsite battery energy storage systems (BESS) to more than 150 stations, Electrify America plans to build on previous investments to help manage the energy load to the grid and capture excess solar energy where possible.
“The momentum moving us closer to an electric transportation system is accelerating with consumers finding more and more choices of EVs from virtually every manufacturer,” Palazzo said. “Our customer research shows the need to transition to a more inviting charging experience that accommodates the human experience with waiting areas and other conveniences.”
Electrify America plans to showcase this transition with installation in 2022 and 2023 in select new flagship charging facilities in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, San Diego and Beverly Hills, California and in New York within Manhattan and Brooklyn. Currently the company has flagship charging stations located in Baker, California and Santa Clara, California.
EV Rider’s Take
This announcement is great news and shows the logical way forward for the expansion of charging stations in the U.S.. You’ll notice the new design features pull-through chargers as opposed to just pull-in chargers. This is a critical development to accommodate the wave of EVs coming to market that feature towing capacities.
This means that over time, like their gasoline counterparts, EV pickups and SUVs won’t need to unhitch their vehicles in order to charge.
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