The Weekly 1.21⚡(EVI News #37) - $75M for Electric Truck Charging. Curbside Competitors on Both Coasts. Illinois Unveils More NEVI Locations.

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Good day, fellow electric leaf peeper 🍂⚡

We’re all set for a fresh season of EV infrastructure construction in the US, as states hustle to reclaim the time lost following the six-month NEVI pause and new networks try to meet their aggressive 2025 targets. Canada is also positioning for the next phase of electrification, with provinces like Nova Scotia and Newfoundland gearing up for accelerated charging programs heading into 2026.

Amidst this resurgence, the looming end of federal EV incentives in the US and a pause on Canada’s EV mandate offer an opportunity for charging vendors to get out ahead of the adoption curve. All kinds of EV charging will eventually be required, as the stories in this edition show. From fast-charging fleets to slow-charging on city streets, we’ll need all this and more to cater to various electric transportation use cases.

Here’s your digest of the latest EV infrastructure developments across North America ⤵️

📢 EV Realty Secures Investor Funding for Expansion + Largest Charging Hub in North America

News - Private equity investor NGP will pour $75 million into EV Realty, an electric fleet infrastructure solutions provider based in San Francisco, CA. The investment will fuel expansion for West Coast commercial fleet operations, including development of the largest grid-connected charging hub on the continent.

Numbers - The hub in San Bernardino, CA, will boast 76 DC fast-charging stalls for various commercial electric vehicles, including Class 8 HDEVs. With almost 10MW of grid capacity, the facility will be able to charge more than 200 electric trucks every day. EV Realty broke ground on the site this week.

Nuance - This investment from NGP bookends a productive month for EV Realty. Earlier in September, the company confirmed a partnership with Prologis Mobility to link electric freight corridors with their respective efforts in northern and southern California.

Next Up - More than any other area of EV infrastructure, real estate is viewed as the key to unlocking the all-electric future of transportation for commercial freight movements. If EV Realty can deliver on the promise of opening its San Bernardino hub before the end of the year, it will mark an impressive foundation for commercial EV fleets to build from in 2026.

🔍 Charging Vendor Spotlight: ChargeSmart EV

News - ChargeSmart celebrated a notable port milestone and revealed utilization stats that underscore the nascent network’s position as one of the most impactful new players on the charging scene in the northeastern United States.

Numbers - The Clifton Park, NY-based company reports it now has more than 2,000 plugs across 250+ charging sites. Based on lagging AFDC numbers, around one-quarter of that site count offers DC fast charging, typically with AUTEL hardware capable of 120-240kW. ChargeSmart also revealed utilization stats of 150,000 charging sessions per year, with 5,363,081 kWh delivered across their network.

Nuance - The network’s locations are primarily in the northeast corner of the US thus far, with an affinity for accommodation and auto dealerships. The former category has proven particularly successful, as New York state has been blanketed with ChargeSmart charging locations at various hotel chains. The network’s success in those categories has also been a boon for hardware partner AUTEL, whose Maxichargers are now a common sight across New York and Massachusetts.

Next Up - Expansion to other markets, including Florida and Pennsylvania, has so far been limited to dealerships. With such a significant base of hotel and hospitality sites in its growing portfolio, expect to see ChargeSmart EV lean into accommodation relationships, and perhaps municipalities, to catalyze its next phase of growth.

🔌AC/DC: Voltpost and it’s electric Secure Summer Wins on Both Coasts

News: Two of North America’s most promising curbside charging solutions, it’s electric and Voltpost, received boosts on either side of the US this summer. In California, it’s electric scored a CEC grant to bring V2G charging hardware to the curbs of San Francisco. In New York earlier this summer, Voltpost confirmed a project with NYSERDA to deploy lamppost-based chargers in New York City.

Numbers: $1.1 million for it’s electric from the California Energy Commission and $3 million for Voltpost from New York state.

Nuance: Although they are technically direct competitors in the curbside charging field, both it’s electric and Voltpost will be needed for distinct applications that depend on location and hardware requirements. Both are minimalist solutions, but it’s electric offers the V2G functionality explored by the CEC project and a bring-your-own-cable solution, if street hardware is limited. Voltpost retrofits existing street furniture with its unintrusive system, offering a unique option with minimal work, where posts are plentiful.

Next Up: it’s electric has pilots underway in California, New York, Michigan, Maine, and Massachusetts. It will continue to expand these programs as further proof of concept, while seeking funding opportunities that leverage unique aspects of its product offering. Similarly, Voltpost has agreements to deliver curbside charging in New York, California, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Given the EV-friendly nature of these states and cities, expect funding to continue and both solutions to be fully tested, pending wider rollouts.

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🛣️ On the Road: This Week in DCFC

News - Another productive week in terms of additions to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, with more action than usual up in Canada and a variety of players adding valuable new locations across the United States.

Numbers - 296 DC charging ports at 47 charging locations in 25 states/provinces added to AFDC this week.

Notable New Stations + AFDC Additions:

 🍾 Pilot-Flying J energized the long-awaited DCFC station at its truck stop in Sutton, WV, adding the only true non-Tesla high-power charging option on a barren stretch of I-79. West Virginia has long been the land that fast charging forgot for anyone who doesn’t drive a Tesla, which makes this location a critical addition to the corridor.

🦫 Hot on the heels of cutting its first ribbon in California, IONNA added another state first with the opening of its Beaver, UT Rechargery.

🍁 Petro Canada takes the award for most active charging vendor north of the border, in recent weeks, with seven separate locations upgraded to ChargePoint hardware across three provinces. The replacements promise to bring higher power and more reliable fast charging to the locations in Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Ontario.

🔴 Tesla opened 11 Supercharger locations across nine states and one Canadian province, adding 152 charging stalls to the map. Another busy week was marked with Supercharger additions in locations where other players were busy, such as the eight stalls in Beaver, UT, and another eight in Grand Junction, CO, not far from which both IONNA and Pilot-Flying J have energized new stations in recent months. Meanwhile, another 28 stalls at Boulevard Mall keep Tesla’s Las Vegas Supercharger surge on track.

⭕ Red-E was another active charging operator this week, with eight new sites adding 30 DCFC ports across four states and one province. Most of the locations are four-port stations, spread across Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ontario.

🟠 New ChargePoint stations in Liverpool, NY, and Canton, MI, add eight new charging stalls, with the former confirmed as one of the locations co-funded by GM Energy.

🔵 Ford Charge was back in action this week, with a new location added to the Blue Oval Network thanks to 240kW-capable hardware at Hacienda Ford in Alice, TX.

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

📝 On the paper trail, as covered in our special edition this week, at least eleven states now have NEVI plans for FY 2026 approved: CA/CO/HI/MN/MT/NV/PA/TX/UT/VT/WA. Illinois also announced its round 2 awards, with 25 locations receiving $18.4 million. Given the increased activity around the program, it’s likely we’ll start a separate monthly update for NEVI developments. If you’d like to get on the early list to receive those, reply to this email with “NEVI” in the subject or body text.

🚧 On the ground, no new NEVI activations this week, but the first site at frozen dessert purveyor Culver’s appears close to completion in Rhinelander, WI. Power is on and all that’s left is to commission the site at Wisconsin’s ninth NEVI location. Plenty of activity around the Great Lakes in general, where another five sites in Wisconsin are underway, Michigan has several sites close to opening, and Minnesota projects opening its round 1 sites before the year is out.

🫎 Sticking with Minnesota, Kempower hardware is starting to show up at proposed MN Power fast charging locations. Sites in Floodwood, Duluth, and Cohasset are all at various stages of construction, with another 13 locations planned.

🚨 IONNA confirmed fences up at new locations in Oregon (Creswell), Vermont, and Washington (Vancouver). Those in the Pacific Northwest were already known through permitting, but Brattleboro, VT, is a new one for the map, and IONNA’s first in the Green Mountain State. Back in permitting, Rechargeries for Puyallup, WA, and Tempe, AZ, were spotted by AlejandroEV66. The latter will be a 14-stall site, if plans are accurate, making it one of the larger Rechargeries in IONNA’s expanding portfolio.

🔴 New US Tesla stations are confirmed in permitting by MarcoRP1, with Superchargers slated for Greeley, CO, Glenview, IL, and Parksley, VA. Construction was also confirmed at the Supercharger in Rochester, MN, alongside a new Supercharger Projections Map update from Marco.

🛒 A fresh update from Landon at The Arkansas eTraveler (embedded above) reveals the latest locations in Walmart Energy’s DCFC pipeline, including 12 new locations listed as “coming soon”. Check out the video for site visits from select locations in Texas, as well as more on the permits spotted by Landon’s growing group of site scouts!

💲Pricing: From Affordable to Unacceptable, NEVI Sites Represent the Full Spectrum of DCFC Rates in 2025

News - Our mid-September snapshot of NEVI progress reveals pricing broadly in line with the national average, although outliers do provide early warnings of excessive rates from some charging vendors.

Numbers - Although the $0.53/kWh average falls in similar territory to our monthly nationwide (US) EV Charging Pricing Index, the range from $0.39/kWh to $0.84/kWh is where things really get interesting. Municipal sites and utility-led networks shore up the lower end of that range, but the upper end is led by Francis Energy, a charging vendor with by far the most NEVI awards to date. This could indicate a precipitous rise in the NEVI average charging price, unless rates are reined in.

Nuance - Sites in New Mexico are indicative of rising NEVI rates, with pricing in the realm of $0.78 to $0.84 per kWh this month. On a positive note, Francis has reduced pricing at NEVI sites in Ohio, returning to a more reasonable range of $0.50-0.54/kWh for most, although Cridersville, OH, remains at $0.64/kWh.

Next Up - A wide range of charging vendors are involved in the NEVI program, from rising stars like Electric Era and Zero 6 to utility-led networks, large truck stop chains, and industry veterans such as Tesla and EVgo. With hundreds of awards to date, Francis Energy leads them all and, as such, has the greatest potential to influence the conversation around pricing at these key charging stations, funded to a large extent by US taxpayers.

🚛 Fleet Focus: Revel Selects Relion for O&M at Popular NYC Rideshare Charging Hubs

News - Shortly after exiting the rideshare operating business in its own right, newly-focused charging infrastructure provider Revel has chosen South Carolina-based Relion as its operations and maintenance vendor for charging hubs in New York City.

Numbers - 88 charging stalls across five sites comprise Revel’s current footprint in New York City, but there’s more to come for Relion’s new O&M remit. Four upcoming sites will be added to the mix, including a high-profile location at the city’s busy LaGuardia airport.

Nuance - Revel is a public charging vendor whose existence is inextricably linked to rideshare fleets. The company entered the charging hub space to keep its electric taxis on the road, eventually realizing that building infrastructure for electric vehicles was a more promising business than trying to catch up to Uber and Lyft. With heavy utilization in high adoption EV markets, maintaining uptime and providing a seamless experience for rideshare drivers eager to get back on the road for their next fare will be a key requirement for Relion.

Next Up - With more Revel stations outside of New York City and ambitions that stretch to major cities across the United States, Relion could have eyes on a much larger engagement once it proves its worth in NYC. Revel hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles are just the tip of the iceberg, as the company moves on from its role as a rideshare provider to build out EV charging hubs at popular fleet locations across the country.

🎧 Amped Up for Audio 🔌

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

This week, we settle in with the Clean Power Hour podcast for a spotlight on community-scale solar and energy storage solutions.

🎧Clean Power Hour: AJ Perkins on large-scale residential solar/storage ☀️

This episode brings in renewables expert AJ Perkins, former CEO of Instant ON, to cover the push for solar and battery storage that serve not just individual households, but entire communities with cheaper power and the resilience of their own microgrid.

🔋💯 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:

LG Technology invests in Weavegrid to develop EV integration with the grid

SWTCH and Flo Charging confirm EV roaming agreement

ChargeMate AI welcomes a new advisor and investment from 500 Global

Affinity EV partnership is now an acquisition for energy platform Jumptech

California’s Hybrid/ZEV Truck & Bus Voucher Incentive Program (HVIP) is once again open for applications

Deadline Approaching! C3 $249M RFI for M-HDEV infrastructure grant on I-95 (CT/DE/MD/NJ areas) - deadline: 9/30/25

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

MnDOT confirmed it aims to release a round 3 NEVI RFP in Nov/Dec 2025. Sign up here for email reminders

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

See you next week ⚡

Cheers,

Steve / Plug & Play EV

🔔 Essential EV Follow - Andrew Wishnia (BSP)

📍Charging Site of the Week: Tesla V4 Supercharger at Wawa (Summerdale, PA)