Looking for a place to power up?
December brought news of several new EV charging station projects across the country as the sector works to fill in gaps and assure drivers they won’t be left with a dead battery.
First up: Rivian announced that it’s opening a new charging “outpost” in Joshua Tree, following its first location in Yosemite earlier this year.
The Joshua Tree location features a slew of amenities, including coffee, snacks, and a play area for kids, as well as educational opportunities about EV charging.
Also of note: For the first time, Rivian is opening up its fast-charging network to non-Rivian vehicles. By the end of this year, the EV maker plans to have other charging outposts up and running in Texas, Illinois, Montana, New York, Michigan, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.
The stations will have CCS connectors but can accommodate NACS-equipped EVs with an adapter. Rivian said that a forthcoming update would enable support for native NACS connectors, the charging standard (pioneered by Tesla) that is becoming the industry norm.
In fact, Electrek reported that Michigan now has its first charging station funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program––and it’s part of Rivian’s charging network. The site, which is located in a Meijer parking lot and is open to all EV brands, has six fast charging chargers.
In a statement, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said that “to achieve widespread electrification, you also need a really good charging network.”
“Now,” he added, “we’re excited to bring the Rivian Adventure Network––with its ease of use and exceptional reliability––to other EV drivers around North America, investing in a future where charging on the road will be simple, sustainable, and convenient.”
Speaking of NACS: Nissan said that drivers of its Ariya EV can now use “17,800 Tesla Superchargers within the Nissan Energy Charge Network,” per a news release. That gives Nissan drivers access to more than 100,000 public chargers in the US and 25,000 in Canada, according to the automaker.
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Nissan EV drivers will need a NACS adapter, which the automaker is selling for $235. Starting next year, Nissan will start adding native NACS ports to its EVs in the US and Canada.
Now boarding: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Brooklyn-based EV charging startup Revel announced they broke ground on 24 new EV fast chargers at JFK.
Slated to open next year, the new chargers will be installed in JFK’s For Hire Vehicle Hold Lot 1 West and will more than double the airport’s charging capacity, per a news release. They’ll be open to the public and available 24/7.
The port authority, which is in the process of electrifying its own vehicle fleet, said the project will help it meet its goal of having net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Revel is also installing 48 fast charging ports near LaGuardia, which the port authority said would represent “the largest public fast-charging station near an airport in the nation.”
“It’s impossible to electrify rideshare without an abundance of charging near the airports,” Frank Reig, Revel’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement.
Odds and ends: Electrek reported that Costco teamed up with EV charging network Electrify America to install DC fast chargers at certain stores, starting with five locations in California, Florida, and Colorado.
According to the Washington Post, California is expanding its EV charging infrastructure via a $1.4 billion plan that calls for adding nearly 17,000 new chargers, with half of the funding earmarked for areas with high levels of pollution.