The Weekly 1.21⚡(EVI News #38) - True Tesla V4 Ups Voltage in CA. AC Charging Up in the Air. Blink Enables eRoaming with Hubject.

Good day, fellow Fall range watcher 🍂🌡️ 👀

The arms race to up North America’s DC fast charging power levels is well and truly on this month, first with the Mercedes-Benz HPC network confirmed 600kW-capable Alpitronic Hyperchargers for 2026, and next the full power of Tesla’s V4 Superchargers about to see the light of day in California.

If you truly need to charge your EV in less time than it takes to run to the restroom and grab a coffee on the way out, those dreams are a step closer to reality this week.

For those with more of an “I charge where I park” approach, news of more it’s electric installations, sky-high Voltposts, and the next generation of Pando Electric’s smart outlet might be more your speed. Either way, we’re going to need all of these solutions and more to keep North American EVs charged up, at home and on the road.

Whatever your speed, here’s your digest of the latest EV infrastructure developments across the United States and Canada this week ⤵️

📢 Transition to True V4, 1000V Superchargers Underway in CA

News - Plans for the permitted Tesla Supercharger in Campbell, CA, confirm that it will be the first known true V4 location with Tesla Charging’s latest hardware, bringing higher power and truly universal fast-charging to North America’s largest network.

Numbers - Up to 500kW at 1,000V are the numbers that we’ve all been waiting for in the real world, since Tesla Charging revealed full V4 details last year. A single V4 cabinet feeds eight charging posts, compared to the V3 cabinet seen at most Supercharger sites today, which feeds half that number at existing sites.

Nuance - Although V4 posts are now a common sight at new Tesla Superchargers, away from the charging stalls the power cabinets are the same ones feeding V3 locations, which date back to 2019. These are capped at 250kW and 500V, which worked well at the time but has become a limiting factor for newer electric vehicles, including 800V models and Tesla’s own Cybertruck.

Next Up - The Campbell Supercharger permit dates back to January of this year. In its November 2024 announcement, Tesla Charging confirmed that it expects the first sites with this new setup to be operational in 2025.

🔍 Charging Vendor Spotlight: Blink Charging

News - One of the veteran names in all forms of EV charging in the United States, Blink Charging started as a recognized brand name in early 2017 and can be found in almost every state. This week, Blink partnered with Hubject to improve charging roaming options for North American EV drivers.

Numbers - Almost 1,700 fast charging ports in 46 states and 576 locations, based on AFDC listings, more than half of which also offer level 2 AC charging options. Pricing can be high, though, with Blink emerging as the most expensive charging vendor in our study of mid-Atlantic state DCFC prices earlier this year (average: $0.64 per kWh).

Nuance - Blink’s network has its roots in Ecotality, a company that filed for bankruptcy in 2013. The network has grown through a few core categories, with fast charging options at auto dealerships and a productive partnership with the Royal Farms convenience store chain in the mid-Atlantic states among the most important. Blink also purchased SemaConnect in 2022, bolstering its L2 charging network.

Next Up - In an increasingly competitive sector to attract charging customers, Blink’s network remains heavily skewed to one of the everyday driver’s least favored places to charge: auto dealerships. Although some of these locations can be near other businesses, the tendency for inventory vehicles to use/block these stations always gives EV travelers pause for thought.

🔌AC/DC: Voltpost Air Adds to Streetlight Charging Options

News: More charging could be coming to a street pole near you, courtesy of the latest iteration of Voltpost’s curbside hardware. Voltpost Air takes the brand’s ground-level retrofit of existing street posts and reimagines it further up the light pole. A retractable cord descends for EV charging, returning to its unobtrusive pole housing once unplugged.

Numbers: 10 feet above the ground, the charge cord can be deployed by an app and brought to port level, at which point it will deliver up to 9.6kW of AC power to an EV.

Nuance: Typically, we’ll try not to cover the same vendor in back-to-back editions, but everybody loves a good pole-mounted charger story. This solution has captured the eye of intrigued EV drivers several times over, notably in Los Angeles, CA, and Seattle, WA, where avoiding vandalism was the primary benefit. I even covered a pilot program with this solution in the more bucolic suburbs of Greater Boston, as National Grid tested the pole-mounted hardware in Melrose, MA. See the end of this edition for that site visit.

Next Up: Voltpost isn’t the first to envisage AC charging out of sight yet within reach, but it might be the most well-positioned advocate to deliver this solution at scale. Previous attempts have been on the part of individual agencies or municipalities and engaged partners, whereas Voltpost exists solely to bring curbside charging to cities across the United States (and steal a march on the competition as it does so). The test site at Brooklyn’s Bush Terminal is expected to open for public use later this year.

🛣️ On the Road: This Week in DCFC

News - An even busier week than usual for additions to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, with most of the major vendors active and some interesting locations added on both sides of the border.

Numbers - 431 DC charging ports at 88 charging locations in 30 states/provinces added to AFDC this week.

Notable New Stations + AFDC Additions:

📶 Pilot-Flying J played a strong hand in station openings this week, with four new stations following the recently energized (and much-needed) Sutton site in West Virginia. This week saw new P-FJ locations in Iowa, LA, McLeansville, NC, Tulsa, OK, and two new stations added in Florida.

⭕ Red-E was among the most active charging installers again this week, adding 4 new sites with 22 DCFC ports to the map. A site here in Greater Boston offers perhaps the perfect mix of retail-related charging hardware in Natick, MA, featuring high-power AC charging at 19.2kW alongside 5 x 120kW AUTEL Maxichargers, ideal for those requiring DCFC to get charged up in the time it takes to grocery shop.

🍦 Fans of frozen custard and fast charging rejoice, for your dual passions are now served in Rhinelander, WI. The opening of Zero 60’s first site in the Midwest is also the vendor’s first NEVI-funded location, in conjunction with GM Energy and ChargePoint as the network and hardware provider. This is the ninth NEVI station Wisconsin has energized.

🔴 Tesla added 180 stalls at 13 Superchargers in eight states and one province.. Another busy week was marked with 3 x 20-stall Superchargers in California, as well as another with that impressive count in Pinellas Park, FL. 16 stalls each for Perry, GA, and Milton, ON, are also excellent additions, though of course it’s that first true V4 in Campbell, CA, that we’re now waiting for… can it sneak in under the wire for 2025 in Q4? 👀👀 

⭐ Francis Energy opened its sole station this week in the Lone Star State, but it’s a good one. Sixteen ports across eight SK Signet 400kW dispensers mean up to 200kW for each stall, in Santo, TX, which is also the largest Francis DCFC station to date.

⏳ IONNA finally activated a location that had been stuck in construction limbo, with the Belen, NM Rechargery now on the active list. 181 days from fences up to activation marks one of the longest turnaround times for IONNA’s early sites. Before this opening, the “IONNA speed” average for the network’s first 30 sites is under 84 days.

🔶Rivian’s Adventure Network added an important Utah location, with 16 stalls activated in Green River. The remote location is a key site on I-70, connecting travelers heading to Moab and Colorado to I-15, for onward travel to Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. The stall count is also notable, as this is the company’s largest RAN station so far. New stations in Gallup, NM, and Paramus, NJ, also opened this week.

🛒 Two new FLO Ultra units continue the deployment under the company’s partnership with the Metro grocery store chain, adding four new fast charging ports in London, ON.

🍁 Although Petro Canada had a great deal of activity again in the AFDC listings this week, we’re reserving assessment of progress in case this is a simple software provider switch…for now. As reported in several editions, Petro Canada stations are switching to ChargePoint for both hardware and networking. But as noted by Walter at tNAC in the AFDC video update below, we don’t have confirmation from all locations that the sites themselves have been upgraded. Watch this space… 🚧👀

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 ground, Wisconsin flipped several planned NEVI locations to the yellow of “under construction”, including Richfield and Hatley. Pennsylvania also edged closer to taking a clear lead at the top of the NEVI standings, with construction underway in New Stanton and Tesla close to opening new Superchargers with federal funds in Shrewsbury and Somerset, PA.

🚨 IONNA confirmed fences up at several locations already identified in permitting, from its northeasternmost location in Portsmouth, NH, to new Rechargeries in Springfield, IL, and Oviedo, FL. Back in permitting, Rechargeries for Sparks, NV, and Portland, OR, were spotted by AlejandroEV66.

🔴 In addition to the first true V4 Supercharger permit mentioned earlier (and pictured above), new US Tesla stations are confirmed in permitting by MarcoRP1, with Superchargers planned for Glendale, CO, and Tustin, CA. New Tesla Semichargers for commercial fleet operations have also been identified in California, Arizona, and Texas.

⏸️ A new NEVI category is emerging after the FHWA-induced pause, first identified by Texas with sites that were awarded but not obligated, and were built anyway. Tesla had five awards listed as “Built, non-NEVI” on the latest Texas list, and Alaska’s FY26 plan now confirms that the state’s first active location that aligns with a NEVI award, the Tesla Supercharger in Trapper Creek, AK, proceeded under the same status. The plan, which is still under review at the time of writing, has Alaska Energy Authority requesting that “these sites count as NEVI-creditable”, leaving funding status up in the air for now.

💲Pricing: Sheetz Signals Move to Partner Pricing at Electrify America Locations in PA

News - Price shifts for two Electrify America sites at Sheetz stores in Pennsylvania bring those locations the distinction of being the first to show the convenience store chain setting its own rates for DC fast charging.

Numbers - Sheetz appears to be setting $0.51/kWh as its initial base rate in Altoona and York, PA, while most Sheetz-located sites priced by Electrify America, such as nearby Bedford and Bloomsburg, are set at $0.56/kWh. EA’s lowest price point, however, as seen in State College, PA, comes in less expensive than Sheetz's own rate, at $0.48/kWh.

Nuance - Sheetz also hosts charging sites from other vendors, including Tesla Superchargers and IONNA, where so far we’ve only seen the charging provider set pricing. Although the Sheetz sites highlighted here look much the same on the ground, control over how much the customer pays to charge is decided by different entities. EA’s membership plans don’t typically apply at sites with partner pricing, such as those at Costco or IKEA, so it’s the flat fee set by the host that drivers pay at these locations.

Next Up - With increasing competition for the limited pool of current EV drivers, expect to see forward-thinking C-store brands like Sheetz, Wawa, and others take a greater interest in the pricing strategy of the charging vendors they host at their sites. Our monthly pricing index (EVCPI) for September will be shared with founder list subscribers this week, including a focus on partner pricing through established networks like Electrify America and EVgo.

🚛 Fleet Focus: Multiple Vendors Integrate with WEX for Fleet Charging Payments

News - WEX confirmed integrations with Lynkwell, Revel, and Ampcontrol, bringing the respective partners’ charging locations and support systems into the company’s En Route public network.

Numbers - The move brings hundreds of new US charging stations into the fold for WEX users, enabling payment through the company’s established platform. This move integrates these locations into the WEX EV Depot platform, launched earlier this year, which brings fleet vehicle drivers access to public stations via an RFID card or app tied to their commercial fleet operations.

Nuance - WEX already partners with some of the biggest names in charging, from EVgo and ChargePoint to Flo and EV Gateway. New partnerships expand the network for WEX fleet customers when they need to charge up in public. The idea here is to streamline that charging experience, making the activation process easier for drivers and providing more data around vehicle charging to empower decision-making for fleet operators.

Next Up - Partnerships like this continue to build the wider EV charging ecosystem for fleet operators, who consistently encounter fragmented systems and siloed data. Expect to see more charging sector companies with overlapping interests continue to forge closer ties as the market tightens heading into 2026.

🎧 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 catch up with our Coast-to-Coast EVs fortnightly livestream, for a look at the end of EV incentives in the United States and paused EV targets in Canada.

🎧 EV Fall Back? Coast-to-Coast EVs #45 w/ Chase Drum (Grid Connections) 🔮

This edition welcomes back the experienced voice of Chase Drum, who you can connect with this week via our essential EV follow segment below. He and the C-to-C EVs team explore the latest trend toward “electrified” over all-electric, Canadian EV adoption targets, and predictions for life after federal electric vehicle incentives.

🔋💯 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:

Electrify America scoops innovation award for battery-backed charging sites

Evocharge abruptly calls time on its EV charger business operations

Chargerhelp! shared its annual EV Charger Reliability Report for 2025

Blink Charging partners with Hubject for improved charger roaming

it’s electric celebrates its first chargers in the City of Alameda

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)

Alabama rescinded rounds 1 and 2 of its NEVI awards/RFP process and will start from scratch, according to its approved FY26 plan, with applications opening on 10/15/25 (sign up for ADECA updates here)

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 - Chase Drum (Grid Connections)

📍Charging Site of the Week: AmpUp Pole-Mounted EV Charging (Melrose, MA)