The Weekly 1.21⚡(EVI News #13): No Supercharger Slowdown. J3400's AC Opportunities. iONNA Membership (Maybe).

Good day, fellow charge station chatterbox ⚡💬

As tariffs take center stage and everyone attempts to identify winners/losers, the dominant player in North American EV infrastructure rumbles on, adding Superchargers and advancing the transition to the connector type it pioneered.

This week’s edition holds uncertainty in the policy section but promise and advancement in every other area… progress continues, despite the shifting sands on which EVI is built.

That said, let’s plug into another week of (never uneventful) electric vehicle news ⤵️

📢 Supercharger Expansion Isn’t Slowing Down

News - Comparing first quarter performance to 2024, Tesla Charging shared healthy growth across all key network metrics, with Supercharger energy delivery, stall additions, and charging sessions all up by double digits YoY.

Numbers - Across the global Supercharger network, which includes more than 30,000 stalls in the US and Canada, charging sessions were up 27% in Q125 vs. Q124. More than 2,200 new stalls were added in that period, representing 17% growth over Q124, and 26% more energy was delivered over the previous year’s opening quarter.

Nuance - A significant downsizing of the Supercharger team sent waves of concern through the industry this time last year. Other than short-term administrative difficulties and the individual impact of job losses, the impact on Tesla Charging’s expansion plans appears to be minimal. With 12- to 18-month lead times for many DCFC projects, any long-term impacts of those layoffs should be showing up around this time.

Next Up - Tesla continues to open up Supercharger access to new models from manufacturers gradually transitioning to the J3400/NACS connector. Network growth needs to keep pace to maintain its high standards around reliability and availability. In the US, watch for Tesla Charging to continue its focus on expansion in suburbs around major metro areas, as we’ve seen in Boston, MA, and currently underway in Las Vegas, NV.

🔍 Charging Vendor Spotlight: Nouria

News - Although it has operated under multiple charging networks, Nouria is investing and evolving a fully-branded fast charging experience at its convenience stores in New England.

Numbers - 29 DC charging ports at 12 stations, capable of up to 320 kW at some sites, located at gas station/convenience stores across Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Nuance - The first Nouria location with public fast charging dates all the way back to 2019, when a new store near Boston Logan airport hosted the first Shell Recharge station in North America. That site has aged outquickly and was recently replaced with ChargePoint units, though the hardware mix has also spread to BTC Power all-in-one units and battery-backed systems from ADS-TEC, which are currently the most commonly used.

Next Up - Nouria has focused on Massachusetts to date, with only one station outside the state in New Hampshire. Another location is planned for Bridgton, Maine, though the involvement of NEVI funding could complicate deployment here. With reliable hardware and a footprint of 169 stores that extends into Rhode Island and Connecticut, Nouria has space to become a common name on the lips of EV drivers traversing New England.

🔌 AC/DC: SAE J3400 Market Adoption (and AC Advantages

News - The CharIN NACI SAE J3400 — So. Many. Acronyms! — Task Force has launched a market adoption survey to gather opinions on the opportunities and obstacles involved with rolling out the standardized version of Tesla’s NACS connector.

Numbers - 277 volts. That’s the upper AC voltage of J3400, which compares favorably to the lower, less efficient capabilities of the outgoing J1772 standard. J3400 improves AC charging efficiency by 2% to 8% for many commercial applications (such as fleet charging), due to its alignment with utility standards for three-phase power.

Nuance - Standardization of J3400 brings with it several improvements to the AC ecosystem, from higher voltage yielding more efficient charging to bidirectional power distibution. As a primer, NACI offers this article from Rodney McGee to learn about the advantages of J3400 standard for AC charging applications.

Next Up - While DCFC is the first place we’ll see J3400 gain public traction, AC charging scenarios are where the most benefits will be realized in the months and years ahead. Greater efficiency, reduced installation costs, and creating a roadmap for bring-your-own-cable (BYOC) charging solutions are all a step closer as SAE J3400 becomes the norm.

🛣️ On the Road: This Week in DCFC

News - Station openings dipped again last week, although notable new NEVI sites were energized, regional providers made progress, and Rivian’s Adventure Network upgrades continued apace.

Numbers - 167 fast charging ports at 62 charging stations added to AFDC listings this week, across the United States and Canada.

Notable Locations Added to AFDC:

🔷 EVgo opened a new station in Jacksonville, FL, with eight stalls at the Mandarin Landing mall south of the city. The location is well placed to serve I-295/Highway 13 and features a slightly different layout than we’re used to seeing from EVgo, with power cabinets placed right alongside the four Delta Electronics 350kW dispensers.

⚡This week added Kansas to the NEVI map, with a new Flying J station in Emporia giving the state its first federally-funded station. Pilot Flying J continued its hot streak with another five new stations, including the network’s 20th nationwide NEVI site in Monument, Colorado. With 150+ P-FJ stations, NEVI sites are just 13% of the project.

🔴 Tesla opened Superchargers in Seattle, WA (12 stalls) and Madison, AL (16 stalls). Both locations feature V4 dispensers, though the power cabinets remain V3 hardware. With V4 cabinet locations permitted in 2024, expect to see the first fully V4 locations later this year.

🟢 Electrify America energized six new stalls in partnership with the Bank of America in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

📍 In the Northeast, regional C-store chain (and this week’s spotlight vendor) Nouria continues to build out its EV charging options in New England. Two new locations in Massachusetts (Marlborough and Gardner) each get two new ADS-TEC ChargeBox systems, which buffer energy with an on-site battery to maintain power delivery up to 320kW per stall.

🟦 bp pulse powered up a new station at its TravelCenters of America location in London, OH. If that sounds familiar, it’s because this is where the first NEVI-funded fast charging station opened, at Pilot Travel Center right across the road almost 18 months ago.

🔶 Rivian continued upgrades that open its Adventure Network, with existing stations in Blowing Rock, NC, Cookeville, TN, and Waynesboro, VA now available to non-Rivians.

To see how and where the leading charging vendors are expanding, check out The Network Architect Channel on YouTube for DCFC updates like this one.

💲DCFC Pricing: iONNA Hints at Member Rates

News - iONNA, the growing fast charging network backed by eight automakers, introduced lower pricing at select locations.

Numbers - Six iONNA Rechargery locations in five states will offer rates ranging from $0.34 per kWh (Houston, TX) to $0.38 per kWh (Abilene, KS and Willoughby, OH).

Nuance - Although pricing in Houston remains the same low rate, at the network’s flagship location in Apex, NC, prices are down 25% with this announcement. The news has been labeled “discounted membership rates” despite being open to all visitors. This could indicate iONNA is setting the stage for a new app and/or member plan.

Next Up - Pricing experimentation continues as the network fine-tunes its offering and collects feedback from drivers. If a membership plan is on iONNA’s release roadmap, expect to see it in time for summer travel so that drivers heading on long US road trips are incentivized to give it a try.

✒️ Policy: Trump Tariffs Overlap with Biden-Era BABA Provisions

News - Sweeping tariffs introduced by the Trump administration this week upended most of the economy, with the automotive sector high on the list. Although EV infrastructure projects are intrinsically linked to EV sales, which are likely to be hurt by tariffs, Biden-era provisions of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) will insulate some EV players.

Numbers - Tariffs range from 10% to 50% levied on imports, depending on the country of origin. By contrast, one example of Build American Buy American (BABA) provisions for IIJA projects requires 55% of components in manufactured products to be sourced in the United States to qualify for federal funding.

Nuance - First came the carrot, now comes the stick. Both BABA provisions and tariffs aim to bring manufacturing back to the US, but they achieve this in very different ways. BABA sets requirements to invest in domestic sourcing to qualify for financial incentives, while tariffs are a more punitive measure impacting those sourcing from outside the US. Hyundai’s new $7.6 billion Metaplant in Georgia and Flo Charging’s manufacturing facility in Michigan are examples of EV-driven investments, incentivized by BABA requirements, which will now somewhat insulate those companies from tariffs.

Next Up - Individual automakers and charging hardware manufacturers will all be sizing up their strategies to adjust prices and production for US sales. Example: Polestar, which immediately limited sales of the Polestar 2 to remaining inventory vehicles and could remove the China-made sedan from the market thereafter. Its Polestar 3 SUV, however, is made in South Carolina and will be partially insulated from the impacts of tariffs.

🚛 Fleet Focus: Volvo is Greenlane’s First CPO

News - Greenlane Infrastructure partners with Volvo Trucks to integrate its HDEV fleet charging network with the Volvo Open Charge Service.

Numbers - Greenlane’s initial charging corridor will focus on I-15, connecting Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Charging locations are planned every 60-90 miles along the 280-mile route, including DC fast chargers pushing up to 400kW.

Nuance - Greenlane is a $675M joint venture between investment firm BlackRock, Daimler Truck (NA), and NextEra Energy. Starting in California, the venture’s stated goal is to build the largest North American fueling network for clean commercial vehicles (battery electric and hydrogen).

Next Up - Greenlane will open its first HDEV charging station in Colton, CA (pictured above) later this month on Thursday April 24th.

🎧 For Your Listening Pleasure

In every edition, we recommend one of the best listens on electrification, energy, or something similarly EV-related.

🎧 Solar on wheels? - GISMO Power delivers portable power generation 🚘

In this edition of the Energy Changemakers podcast, a family-run startup in Florida explains how their remarkable product - a portable, solar-powered EV charger called MEGA - came to life and could change EV charging in a sunny state with shady people (their words, not mine!)

💻 WoW - Webinar of the Week

As a companion piece to the J3400 survey, this week’s recommendation is a replay of CharIN’s March webinar offering an overview of the new standard.

💻Next Gen. Charging in North America: SAE J3400 Overvew with CharIN🔌

In this hourlong session, experts from across the North American EV sector unpack the technology, timeline for transition, and what different stakeholders need to consider in order to prepare for the wider deployment of SAE J3400.

That’s it for our take on North American EV infrastructure activity this week.

The goal is to improve this digest with every edition, so hit reply with your suggestions for new areas to cover (or the things you don’t need to see!)

And remember, brand loyalty disappears below 5% state of charge* 🪫😬

Cheers,

Steve / Plug & Play EV

*thanks to Felipe Smolka for that one 🙌 

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