Mike Simmons

Is zero-emissions future becoming one of those goals, that is always a decade out? With the favorable EPA guidance on PHEVs and same treatment for PHEV as BEVs in IRA, we are likely to continue seeing BEV penetration growth slowing and shifting towards mid-sized and small vehicles. Pick-ups and larger SUVs will increasingly adopt hybrid powertrains. Beside pushing the zero emissions future out by several years, this has many second order implications on charging network utilization, battery supply chain and OEM product pipeline. Had a great discussion with Mike Colias of The Wall Street Journal on this topic. Full text in link below

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Here’s your weekly EV charging news recap👇 Every Sunday, I pull together the top headlines across the EV charging industry, so you don’t have to. - Giraffe Financial launches service helping organizations access IRA funding for projects including charging infrastructure - ElectricFish announces new manufacturing facility and corporate headquarters in the City of San Carlos - Rivian announces A Better Routeplanner users in the U.S. and Canada will have free access to the Rivian Charging Score - Russell Vare joins The Mobility House as VP of Vehicle Grid Integration for North America - Ford Pro introduces the Ford Pro™ Smart Charging Bundle to assist Massachusetts businesses with adding EVs to their fleet operations - U.S. Department of Transportation awards the Utah Department of Transportation a $20M grant to “connect the West” with V2X technology - Stable Auto announces the launch of Stable Evaluate providing L2 multi-family charger forecasting - QC MetroLINK partners with EO Charging to install EV charging infrastructure for electric bus fleet - EVpin (by Spexbook) launches a feature to help non-Tesla networks discover and acquire canceled power-ready Supercharger sites - Vehya secures $2.1M in Seed funding to further growth and automation of home and small business services, including EV charging - Shell opens first megawatt EV charging station for land and sea vehicles in Amsterdam - SWTCH announces OCPP 2.0.1 certification by the Open Charge Alliance making SWTCH chargers eligible for NEVI and CFI program funding - Power2Drive, the international exhibition for charging infrastructure and e-mobility, hosts their annual event in Munich, Germany - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announces €15M equity investment in Eldrive - AMPECO announces partnership with Worldline to provide a unified payment solution for EV charging provider - Tesla Energy announces launch of Powerwall 3 in the UK and German - ChargePoint announces strategic partnership with LG Business Solutions USA to leverage respective strengths for future innovations in EV charging - WeaveGrid and Emporia announce partnership to expand access to utility-managed charging programs - Monta announces partnership with Drifter World to integrate parking and charging offerings - Verra Mobility announces partnership Bluedot to offer charging capabilities to fleet customers - Texas Instruments announces collaboration with Delta Electronics Americas to create next-generation EV onboard charging - According to a Meticulous Research® report, the EV charging station raw materials market will be worth $8.1B by 2031 - Toyota North America and Pepco Holdings announce partnership to research Vehicle-to-Grid technology in the State of Maryland —----------- 📥 Want the latest EV charging business and policy developments? Subscribe to EVPower Pulse in my profile.

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How do we stop EV cable theft? SBD Automotive knows that the reliability of the nation’s EV charging infrastructure is paramount to accelerating EV adoption. Regrettably we have experienced growing numbers of EV cable theft (presumably for copper) in major cities like Philadelphia, Seattle, and countless others with no easy answers. https://lnkd.in/gBDaiA66 Some ideas: 1. Accelerate CCTV adoption and leverage active deterrents such as setting off an alarm, calling the police, turning on flood lights, etc. 2. Increase advocacy with USA States who receive funding from the NEVI Formula Program to uphold their responsibility to, “implement physical and cybersecurity strategies consistent with their respective State EV Infrastructure Deployment Plans” as well as encourage Federal Requirements for EV network physical security or tamper resistance which do not exist today. 3. Increase copper theft awareness (across multiple industry sectors) to ensure recyclers have ‘proof of origin.' 4. Accelerate the transition from 400V to 800V charging to reduce the amount of necessary copper in the cables for the same charging speed (sounds counter-intuitive but true!) in the first place. 5. Classify EV charging networks as national critical infrastructure allowing tougher federal prosecution (think postal theft!). 6. Ensure deployment and reliability of real-time apps and tools to help drivers find EV charging stations which are operational (even when targeted stations go down) to mitigate a bad experience. 7. Start with 'Why?' – better information sharing among municipalities and law enforcement is needed to quantify the issue and get at the motivations behind these attacks. 8. Make it visible – similar to a sticker: “Our drivers carry less than $20 in cash” to let bad actors know the risks vs. a smaller upside than they believe. What’s your idea? #EVcharging #4Smobility #sustsainability #electricvehicles #sbdautomotive

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Tesla's Supercharger Network is in Jeopardy After Surprise Team Axing. In a move that has the EV world buzzing, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently laid off the entire Supercharger team - despite the profitable network being a key selling point for the company's electric cars. 🔋 The Supercharger division, once tasked with ambitious expansion goals, had around 500 employees responsible for building and maintaining Tesla's over 50,000 charging stalls worldwide. But in April, they were all suddenly let go. According to an ex-employee: "We built the best network in the world. We were minding the ship. Nothing was frivolous." (see: https://lnkd.in/ddgJF39P ) Yet it wasn't enough as Musk went for deep cuts with a "chainsaw" approach amid slowing sales growth and price wars denting profits. The Supercharger network's widespread, reliable and high-speed charging was instrumental in overcoming "range anxiety" for EV buyers. But now: ✅ Dozens of new Supercharger sites are stuck in limbo or may not open at all ✅ An advanced V4 hardware rollout appears stalled ✅ Tesla may struggle to win federal funding for charging expansion While Musk pledged $500M for Supercharger growth, hitting that goal sans a dedicated team will be extremely difficult according to insiders. The layoffs are even more puzzling given the profitability of the network and its future money-making potential by opening to other EVs. All major automakers have now adopted Tesla's charging standard (see my previous posts about it here: https://lnkd.in/dFRE4B3D ) With the Supercharger brain trust gone, can Tesla maintain its crown jewel charging advantage? Or will the network's perceived dominance slowly erode? The company's strategic path for its "linchpin" project is now surrounded by question marks. What are your thoughts on this surprise move? Do you think "Superchargers on wheels" like my https://lnkd.in/de27ZaQ could come to the rescue in areas with new EV offers? Share your insights in the comments! #tesla #polestar #nacs #supercharger #abb

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WattEV is making fantastic progress in the heavy-duty electric truck sector. The company opened a new location in Bakersfield, California, its fourth electric truck charging depot. The site is the world’s first electric truck stop using a solar-powered microgrid, and is capable of megawatt rapid charging (MCS). This state-of-the-art station in Bakersfield features 16 dual-cord 360kW chargers connected to the electric grid. The 15 single-cord 240kW CCS chargers and three MCS 1,200kW rapid chargers draw power from the site’s solar array. The MCS chargers will decrease truck charging time from hours to less than 30 minutes. The WattEV depot in Bakersfield will connect the San Joaquin Valley’s large agricultural sector and growing warehousing to California’s seaports and inland destinations. The site uses a battery energy storage system. This is the third new electric truck charging depot WattEV has opened in California during the past month. WattEV’s ambitious goal is to get 12,000 heavy-duty electric trucks on California roads by 2030. The company plans to have 100 heavy-duty charging stations in operation by 2035. GNA (a TRC Company)'s ACT Expo / ACT News said: "According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the state’s medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle (MHDEV) fleet will grow to more than 1.6 million vehicles by 2050, driven by the ACF Rule and complementary Advanced Clean Truck Rule. Although California has made substantial progress in developing charging infrastructure for passenger vehicles with over 41,000 public chargers in operation, the state lags in MHDEV public charging infrastructure." GNA (a TRC Company)'s Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo is coming soon to the Las Vegas, NV conventtion center, on May 20-23, 2024. It is North America’s Largest Advanced Commercial Vehicle Technology Event. Claas Bracklo of CharIN e.V. told EVinfo.net that megawatt rapid charging (MCS) in its final phase, and that 13 suppliers are working on market preparation. All future WattEV, Inc. depots will include MCS charging, said the company. In January, WattEV was awarded a total of $75.6 million from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to build three additional commercial electric truck charging depots in California, in partnership with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (APCD) and the City of Blythe, CA. “The FHWA funding awards come on the heels of the company receiving $33.6 million in late 2023 from the Transportation Corridor Enhancement Program, bringing WattEV’s total recent federal funding awards to $109 million,” stated WattEV CEO Salim Youssefzadeh.  What's your opinion of Watt EV, MCS, and Solar heavy-duty electric truck charging? At EVinfo.net we are very impressed, and commend WattEV on its great innovation. Who's going to ACT Expo? Comment here. #electrictrucks #mcs Follow Electrify News for top EV industry news, and sign up for e-news.

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Here’s your weekly EV charging news recap👇 - Beam Global launches launch of BeamSpot™ curbside EV charging product line - Ohm Analytics releases Q2 2024 US EV Charging Market Report - Greenlane™ Infrastructure awarded $15M grant by South Coast Air Quality Management District to accelerate commercial EV charging infrastructure - itselectric named a finalist for the 2024 Earthshot Innovation Challenge for its work on equitable EV charging - AmpUp and Blink Charging join WEX's EV network, expanding network to approximately 130,000 public chargers nationwide - Jeffrey B. (Jeff) Cohen starts new position as VP of Sales Tritium Power Solutions at Exicom - Qmerit founder and CEO, Tracy K. Price, announces plans to retire this fall - Massachusetts Institute of Technology study finds EV charging stations increase spending at nearby businesses - Greenlane™ Infrastructure breaks ground on its flagship EV charging and hydrogen station in Colton, CA - Tesla Charging announces it will more than double the annual openings of its Destination Charging network - Monta launches OCPP 2.0.1, enhancing EV charging with improved network configurations - ChargeSmart EV announces they are now live on PlugShare allowing drivers to find their EV stations across the country - GM Energy expands its collaboration with EVgo to deploy 400 fast charging stalls nationwide, with the first locations opening in 2025 - E&I Cooperative Services selects National Car Charging and, sister company Aloha Charge, for multi-year charging procurement contract to help electrify schools and universities nationwide - John Smart announces ChargeX Consortium’s release of a report defining KPIs to measure the public EV charging experience - Federal Highway Administration and Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announce an RFI to collect comments on the development of a national EV charging network for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles - XCHARGE lists on the Nasdaq - Schneider Electric announces the new Schneider Charge Pro Level 2 AC Commercial Electric Vehicle Charger - JCP&L, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, relaunches EV charging incentives for New Jersey residents, covering preparation costs for EV charger installations —----------- 📥 Want the latest EV charging business and policy developments? Subscribe to EVPowerPulse in my profile.

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Every Sunday I share the top headlines across the EV charging industry. Here’s your weekly EV charging news recap👇 - Toyota North America joins seven other automakers as an investor and founding partner of IONNA - Electrify America announces Congestion Reduction Pilot limiting EVs to 85% state of charge - BART has released an RFP for installing L2 chargers at parking facilities; RFP responses are due by 7/23 - Gov. Wes Moore announces $12.1M in federal funding to expand EV charging across Maryland - itselectric announces selection by the City of Boston to expand access to curbside EV charging - Consumers Energy plans to power 1,500 public fast-charging locations by the end of 2030 - evyve Charging Network selects Sitetracker to deploy and manage its hundreds of EV charging stations across England, Scotland, and Wales - According to Transparency Market Research, the wireless EV charging market is expected to reach $2.3B by 2034 - Angela Strand joins the Advisory Board of CSI - (Coulomb Solutions Inc.) - Missouri Governor Mike Parson signs bill banning local EV charging mandates - Marriott International releases 2024 Serve 360 Report highlighting ESG efforts, including continuing to build the company's EV charging infrastructure - bp signs deal with Simon Property Group to expand ultra-fast EV charging network in US - Beam Global announces its Beam AllCell™ energy storage solutions have been selected by a leading provider of solar-powered Transport Refrigeration Units (TRUs) - New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and Governor Phil Murphy announce the launch of Year Five of the state’s successful Charge Up New Jersey EV incentive program incentivizing the purchase of EVs and EV chargers —----------- 📥 Want the latest EV charging business and policy developments? Subscribe to EVPower Pulse in my profile.

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Here’s your weekly EV charging news recap👇 - Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announces a major update to its Public Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Infrastructure Playbook - EVgo reports $66M in Q2 revenue - CleanBC Go Electric Medium-and Heavy-Duty Public Charger Program opens providing up to $200k per charger to purchase and install chargers - Wallbox Chargers announces $45M investment led by Generac - Rexel Energy Solutions and ChargeLab announce partnership to help Canadian businesses secure grant funding for new EV chargers - ReliON raises $3M led by Diagram Ventures, with participation from MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, AQC Capital, Anges Québec and Cycle Momentum - Moxion Power shuts down and lays off 248 employees - AmpUp appoints Michael DiNucci as Chief Revenue Officer - Rivian announces Javier Varela as Chief Operating Officer - SuryaTech receives Innovate Mass Grant from Massachusetts Clean Energy Center - Revel signs major charging hub in downtown Los Angeles with 42 fast charging stalls - EPRI Director of Transportation Britta Gross testifies before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee - ICF reports Q2 2024 results —----------- 📥 Want the latest EV charging business and policy developments? Subscribe to EVPower Pulse in my profile.

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Will EVgo be the next network to profit from Tesla's Supercharger layoffs? The company announced it  will begin to deploy North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors on its fast charging network later this year. EVgo stations included in the roll-out will serve both CCS and NACS vehicles. For the company to maximize charger utilization, deployments will begin in key markets with high NACS vehicle penetration. In the first quarter of 2024, overall utilization on the EVgo network was approximately 19%, up from approximately 9% in the first quarter of 2023. Badar Khan, CEO of EVgo, spoke about the NACS rollout. Nearly 40% of EVgo’s stalls are powered by a 350kW EV charger, almost double the percentage a year ago. The company’s decision to do this was to best serve vehicle models with the most advanced battery technology and high peak charge rates. In April, Tesla shocked the EV industry by announcing that it was laying off its Supercharger team shortly after revealing plans to cut more than 10% of its global workforce. EVinfo.net’s opinion is that it’s too soon to determine the full impact of these layoffs on Tesla’s Supercharger network. However, we suggest that the EV industry will continue to thrive as charging stations remain a profitable venture, according to Stable Auto. bp pulse said it plans to expand BP’s EV charging in the U.S. as a response to the Tesla Supercharger layoffs, shortly after the layoffs were announced. Sujay Sharma, CEO of BP Pulse Americas, told Bloomberg that EV charging site owners who were working with Tesla should contact BP: “If there are stranded real estate partners who are looking for someone to call, they should feel free to pick up the phone and call me or look me up on LinkedIn,” Sharma said. What's your opinion? Will EVgo be the next charging network to profit from Tesla’s pullbacks? Only time will tell. EVinfo.net gets your EV industry business noticed. Let's talk! See our services: https://lnkd.in/gH5Gdqb7 #evcharging

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The BMW i3 REX was the first attempt to market an extended-range EV—a BEV with a generator—but it didn’t quite succeed. Can larger EREVs improve both GHG emissions and consumer acceptance while reducing dependence on DC fast charging? The answer may lie beyond technology alone. New policy tools that reflect real-world fleet performance can encourage OEMs to support frequent charging and earn credits when they do. Current tools, like utility factors and supply-side regulations, are not a sufficient starting point, but many OEMs are exploring promising new technologies, engines, and fuels that may show potential for deep GHG reductions with regular charging may not be a good starting point, but many OEMS are testing new technologies, engines and fuels that shows high potential. https://lnkd.in/gzrMpFBA

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Tesla slashing its Supercharger business is a massive momentum swing for the real estate industry's tug-of-war with the gas station industry. Tesla's Supercharger network suffered from a "functional fixedness" for the old way of doing things -- the gas station mindset. Gas stations are something you go to. They are something out in the world, along the way. It's a stop. Today, 80% of EV charging happens at home. Why not!? It's more convenient. Passive charging is the future, and it's an opportunity for the real estate industry to literally become the gas station industry for personal vehicles. For the charging that does not happen at home + fleet charging, Tesla's exit leaves space for non-Tesla developments...another real estate opportunity. #EVs

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The #EV "instant rebates" available to US consumers upon the purchase of a new EV is being widely used! Up to $7,500 can be knocked off the purchase price of the car right at the dealership, and the dealerships receive the federal reimbursement within days. The Treasury Department said Friday that more than 100,000 people have claimed the credit for new and used EVs since the beginning of the year, and it has reimbursed car dealers more than $580 million for offering the credit at the point of sale, since the #Biden administration launched the point-of-sale rebate in January. Prior to Jan. 1, EV buyers had to wait to claim the credit until they filed their taxes the following year. Another example of how policy can drive adoption of technology. I wish this was an alternative to subsidizing fossil fuels, in the form of tax breaks and credits, direct grants, loan guarantees by the government to lenders, and direct payments for supplementary infrastructure. Shifting some of this burden from our tax money to clean energy, or at least equalizing the playing field, would also be helpful. ;)

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Is the recent news about the Tesla Supercharger team an indication of a slowdown in charger deployment or a sign of more changes to come?  Whatever the case, this inevitably opens up more opportunities for retailers to choose the charger brands they want to deploy. It's decision time! #Superchargers #Tesla #EVCharging #EVSE #EV #EVC #OilMajor #IONNA #Chargepoint #FLO #ElectrifyAmerica #Blink #EVGo #BPPulse #7Charge #CircleKCharge

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Making more money with EV? -- A study in Nature Communications looked at the broader economic impact of 4000 EV charging stations on 140,000 businesses in California. One charger increases annual spending at a nearby establishment by 1.4%, or $1,478 in 2019 and 0.8%, or $404, from January 21 to June 2023. When the establishment is within 100 meters of a charger, the increases were 2.7% in 2019 and 3.2% in the second period. The public charging stations “tend to attract higher-income, exploratory visitors, and local residents.” The stations also “notably enhance businesses in underprivileged areas.”

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When I was in Long Beach recently for the Electrify Expo Industry Day I was invited to take part in a latest episode of the GreenCars Podcast to discuss how we can improve the EV customer experience, communicate EV tech more effectively, and how Chargeway has been leading on this effort for years. Shoutout to Trish Glose and David N. Biondi from GreenCars for the invite! Click the post below for a link to the entire podcast episode. 😊 #chargeway #electriccars #electricvehicles #electricfuel #evcharging #charginginfrastructure #chargingstations #customerexperience #userexperience #podcast #utilities #utilityindustry #energy #energysector #cleanenergy #communication #marketing #branding #evsales #autosector #autosales #greencars

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Improving EV charging reliability is paramount, we're on our way together...

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