The Weekly 1.21⚡(EVI News #34) - NEVI's New Leader. Labor Day Promotions Limited. Connecting California's EV Freight Corridors.

Good day, fellow valuer of volts ⚡🛣️

The NEVI buildout was in full swing this week, even with a holiday weekend looming. Among the developments, a new network/hardware provider on the active list, construction spotted in several states, and a new state at the head of the pack. Charging locations supported by federal funding have doubled in number since the disruptive FHWA memo of early February, with hundreds in progress across the US.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the phase-out of federal incentives for electric vehicles. If you’re in the market for an EV and qualify for a credit, new or used, there’s one month left to lock in those deals. We’re heading to Greenwave EV to get ours this week!

Moving on, here’s your weekly run through EV infrastructure developments across North America ⤵️

📢 NEVI’s Leadership Shift is a Neighborly Tussle

News - Pennsylvania solidified its position as the most productive state actor in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, tying the number of open sites with neighboring Ohio this week and starting construction on several more.

Numbers - The latest activation in Altoona brings Pennsylvania up to 19 active NEVI sites, with another 15 in progress, according to PennDOT. 18 further site awards bring the state’s potential total to 52, many of which transform the experience of traveling across Pennsylvania in an electric vehicle. By almost every measure, PA is now out in front.

Nuance - Although Ohio took an early lead when it opened the first NEVI location in late 2023, and continued a productive activation spree with Pilot-Flying J throughout 2024, this year progress has stalled. Except for one site in North Canton, Ohio, has failed to open any new locations in 2025. It appears paralyzed by the FHWA pause, when plans ground to a halt in many states. Both states have made EV travel much easier with their relatively quick and targeted deployment of NEVI funds, but momentum is clearly with Pennsylvania as the wider program gets underway once again.

Next Up - An upgraded Tesla Supercharger in Somerset, PA is positioned as the location to push Pennsylvania into the top spot of states with open stations. More than 10 further locations are identified as “in progress” by PennDOT, many of which will bridge charging gaps in the south and west of the state. Ohio still shows its remaining 19 site awards in the “design/development” status, with no updates since mid-February.

🔍 Charging Vendor Spotlight: IONNA

News - The OEM-backed charging vendor on the lips of so many media outlets, IONNA, energized its first NEVI-funded site in Colorado and confirmed several new spots in Nevada. A wave of activations over the summer, from Florida to Oregon and many in the middle, quickly brought the network’s state count into double digits.

Numbers - 27 Rechargeries in 13 states, with 260 charging bays across the network as August comes to a close. The planned location pipeline is where things get truly exciting, with close to 100 upcoming stations identified in the planned/permitted or “under construction” bucket.

Nuance - This is an ambitious network with multiple strategic imperatives driving its development. What began with a suburban charging oasis in Apex, NC, has morphed into a clear intent to create a new cross-country travel network in the United States, while still leaning into metro area EV hubs where opportunities exist. The Reynoldsburg Rechargery in Ohio, featured at the end of this email, is a live example of this, with permitted sites in downtown Denver, Las Vegas, and San Francisco all pointing to the continuation of dedicated city charging hubs.

Next Up - This is only the beginning. With the possible exception of Walmart Energy, no single charging vendor has the potential to shift the North American charging landscape as much as IONNA. From its focus on driver amenities and shelter to reasonable pricing and both NACS/J3400 + CCS1 connectors at every location, IONNA has established a firm foundation upon which to build a continent-spanning charging network. Canadian locations next? Let’s hope so.

🔌AC/DC: Destination Charging Is a Key Guest Amenity, According to Hilton

News: Hotel chain Hilton has shared that offering EV chargers converts to more room bookings than other guest amenities, such as restaurants, swimming pools, and complimentary breakfast.

Numbers: The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has previously reported that around 25% of hotels in the US offer charging as an option. However, that number is reportedly much larger when moving to full-service and premium properties, indicating that more budget-conscious brands have yet to embrace EV charging as an essential amenity.

Nuance: Tesla and Hilton partnered years ago to deploy destination charging at 2,000 hotels and resorts. If the chain’s finding that catering to EV owners delivers more bookings than other popular amenities like pools and breakfast continues to play out, that decision in 2023 looks especially prophetic at this relatively early stage of adoption.

Next Up: The original roll out of some 20,000 charging ports across 2,000 properties was due to be complete by the end of 2025. With more than 6,000 hotels and resorts across the continent, expect to see Hilton brand properties expand EV charging options heading into 2026. This could include deploying more ports and greater power at existing locations, as the visitor experience can be quickly flipped on its head if they book a property with EV charging that turns out to have too few ports to accommodate all visitors.

🛣️ On the Road: This Week in DCFC

News - A quiet end to the month, with additions to the AFDC limited this week and only a handful of notable stations energized. Nonetheless, key locations from Tesla, IONNA, and a new charging hub from Shell in Houston, TX, mark some of the highlights.

Numbers - 130 DC charging ports at 38 charging locations in 22 states and provinces added to AFDC this week.

Notable New Stations + AFDC Additions:

🟡 Shell opened another full charging hub in Houston, TX, featuring 10 dispensers serving 20 stalls at up to 360kW. This location marks the third Shell Recharge hub within Houston’s Inner Loop. It is also the largest in that area to date.

🔋Love’s and ChargePoint energized the travel stop chain’s latest NEVI-funded site in Sparta, KY, adding a valuable 320kW fast charging option on the busy route between Lexington and Cincinnati along I-71.

⚡ EVgo had a busy week in conjunction with Pilot-Flying J, opening six new locations, five of which are at P-FJ travel centers. Another site in North Dakota helps to improve the sparse fast charging infrastructure serving the Great Plains, with Grand Forks joining the Fargo station energized earlier this month. Sites in Iowa, Missouri, and two in Illinois round out a productive period for P-FJ, while a sixth for EVgo at Chase Bank in Phoenix, AZ completes the set.

 📶 An energetic week for the revitalized NEVI program continued the march beyond its first 100 stations, with Love’s and IONNA’s new stations joined by Electrify America’s new site in Altoona, PA, to bring the federally funded station count to 111 at the end of August. Check out our progress map to see where NEVI action is happening.

🟢 In addition to its new NEVI site in Pennsylvania, Electrify America energized a larger six-stall station at the Kroger market in Montrose, CO.

🍁 A new On the Run station right off Autoroute 50 at Papineauville, QC, adds five new charging dispensers with shelter and amenities next to the existing Electric Circuit station. A Tim Hortons, Wendy’s, and Marche Express provide the requisite refreshment options at this location, which powers 10 stalls at up to 180kW.

🌊 A new BC Hydro station in Abbotsford, BC, brings eight new fast charging ports to the city’s University of Fraser Valley campus, as well as four L2 charging ports for those spending the night.

🔴 Tesla didn’t get around to AFDC entries but eclipsed everyone else on the ground, opening Supercharger locations across 10 states and one province this week, adding 160 new stalls to the North American charging map. Locations include Ottawa, ON (12), Wellington, FL (16), Fair Oaks, IN (12), Santa Fe, NM (8), Bensalem, PA (12), Puyallup, WA (12), Shiloh, IL (12), Chula Vista, CA (12), Green River, UT (16), Temecula, CA (12), Laurel, MD (12), and Hope Mills, NC (24) . V4 Superchargers are also now open next to an existing location in Green River, UT, making the remote location accessible to all and providing an important bridge between Colorado and points west.

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

📝 In the Pipeline - New Sites Planned/Permitted

🚨 IONNA confirmed fences up at two new Nevada sites, Carlin and Winnemuca, adding to three Las Vegas locations already identified in permitting. The official locations serve the center north of the state along I-80, providing welcome news for EV drivers traversing the route from Reno, NV to Salt Lake City, UT. Permits were also spotted by AlejandroEV66 for a large new location in Wilsonville, OR, which will offer 16 stalls.

🚧 Michigan DOT confirmed “under construction” status at its northernmost NEVI site to date, at a Marathon gas station in Mackinaw City. This location brings the state’s total in progress to four, with the only live site so far being the Rivian Adventure Network location in East Lansing.

👷‍♂️ Meanwhile, Pennsylvania continues to be the NEVI engine of 2025, with two Francis Energy sites in Columbia and Newburg, PA, the latest locations to flip to “in progress” status on the Penn DOT tracking dashboard. Applegreen Electric locations along the Pennsylvania Turnpike are also starting to appear, some of which are NEVI-funded.

🔶 Existing Rivian Adventure Network locations along the West Coast continue to get upgrades to the gen 1.5 hardware that opens them for non-Rivian models. RAN stations in Corte Madera, Mount Shasta, and Santa Nella are all universal access, with more than three-quarters of the Adventure Network’s 124 sites now open to non-Rivian EVs.

🔴 New US Tesla stations are confirmed in permitting by MarcoRP1, with Superchargers slated for St. Louis Park, MN, Santa Clara, CA, and Mount Pleasant, SC.

💲Pricing: Limited DCFC Promotions for Labor Day

News - IONNA shared the only Labor Day pricing specials, with a networkwide rate that echoes what Mercedes-Benz High Power Charging rolled out over the July 4th weekend. Elsewhere, only ROVE Charging in California has a notable end-of-summer price shift.

Numbers - $0.25 per kWh is IONNA’s chosen rate, which is the lowest we’ve seen DC fast charging drop from charging vendors that serve multiple regions this year. The same rate was rolled out by MB-HPC earlier this summer, but that network remains at the still reasonable $0.40 per kWh welcome pricing for many of its sites as summer draws to a close. Meanwhile, flat fee pricing returns to ROVE for fall, replacing “Lightning Savings” TOU rates for a single $0.50/kWh rate.

Nuance - The flip between minor, location-based discounts from IONNA over July 4th weekend to a single flat rate for Labor Day is interesting, especially in light of MB-HPC deciding to sit this one out when it comes to promotional pricing. Both networks face the early challenge of attracting regular EV drivers away from their habitual stops with EVgo and Electrify America, or the safety net of the Tesla Supercharger network. Meanwhile, fall pricing at ROVE shows the see-saw impact of TOU rates in California. Where once the Tesla Superchargers were double the off-peak rate of ROVE’s own units for non-members, the gap has been closed to 20 cents, which can be completely equalized with a Tesla membership plan ($12.99 a month for non-Tesla owners).

Next Up - Subscribers to The Weekly 1.21⚡ can receive deeper dive pricing updates via our new email track. If you’ve already signaled your interest, you’re on the list. If not, we’ve extended the opportunity to join our founder list and receive free lifetime updates through Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025. After this, our pricing track will transition to a tiered access model, so get in before that deadline!

🚛 Fleet Focus: Prologis Mobility Joins EV Realty to Unify Freight Charging Corridors in California

News - EV Realty and Prologis Mobility have joined forces to create a unified charging network for commercial electric fleets across California's key freight corridors.  

Numbers - 107 charging stalls across two hubs in Vernon and San Bernardino, CA, for the first phase of the partnership. The latter will feature a combination of hardware, including the existing CCS1 connector and the long-awaited Megawatt Charging System (MCS).

Nuance - The collaboration aims to simplify charging access for medium- and heavy-duty trucks by integrating distinct networks into joint-access hubs. The operational complexity of managing multiple charging platforms with varied ways to access each can go overlooked, in the rush to new vehicles and more powerful charging hardware. Nonetheless, it remains a barrier to commercial fleet electrification that Prologis and EV Realty will seek to address with this partnership.

Next Up - The Prologis facility in Vernon was scheduled to open this summer but still has a “Coming 2025” tag at the time of writing.The charging hub in San Bernardino, strategically located near key logistics facilities around the Inland Empire, is also expected to be available for commercial fleet customers before the year is out.

🎧 For Your Listening Pleasure

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

This week, we head one state up from our home base in Massachusetts, to hear from Granite Goodness and Greenwave Electric Vehicles about selling EVs in New Hampshire.

🎧 Granite Goodness: Making EVs Happen in New Hampshire w/ Jesse Lore 🪨

In this episode, Jesse Lore, founder of pre-owned EV seller Greenwave, shares his thoughts on everything from the value of community-driven action to raise awareness of electrification to the impact of his business on customers and the environment.

Having experienced firsthand how much passion Jesse and his team bring to the EV buying process, we’re grateful to have Greenwave on our doorstep… and appreciative to host Andy Demeo for producing this podcast with him!

🔋💯 Topping Off…

Here’s a selection of news items we couldn’t squeeze into other sections, followed by select EVI incentive program updates we think you’ll want to know about:

FLO partners with Tim Hortons to deploy chargers at 100 locations by 2028

Eaton/ChargePoint launch Express Grid charging product with V2X applications

BC Hydro joins Ford as part of the Blue Oval charging partner network

Electric Era brings its client locations under one network umbrella

California’s Hybrid/ZEV Truck & Bus Voucher Incentive Program (HVIP) will be refreshed and open for applications from September 9th, 2025

California’s FCCP incentives program is open for applications (deadline: 10/29/25)

Latest round of grant applications from Charge Ahead Colorado opens 9/15/25

$609,500 available for public EV charging project in DC (deadline: 9/22/25)

Clean Corridor Coalition (C3) issues RFI for $249M M-HDEV infrastructure grant on I-95 (CT/DE/MD/NJ areas) - deadline: 9/30/25

If you found this edition useful, share the love by passing it on to a friend, colleague, or family member with an interest in electrification.

And if deeper analysis of EV charging prices is your thing, don’t forget to sign up for our founder list before 9/3/25 to lock in free lifetime updates on the new email track. If you’re already signed up, you should have received the first edition earlier today, so let us know what you think (and where we can improve!)

See you next week ⚡

Cheers,

Steve / Plug & Play EV

🔔 Essential EV Follow - Rivian Roamer

📍Charging Site of the Week: IONNA Reynoldsburg Rechargery, Ohio