The Weekly 1.21⚡ (EVI News #44) - Charging's Real Estate Accelerator. 200+ Chargers for Michigan MFDs. Red E's Rapid Expansion. October DCFC Price Shifts.

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Good day, fellow electric travel planner 🗺️🧭⚡

The see-saw world of electric vehicles continues to tilt towards charging infrastructure, as EV sales in the US take an inevitable tumble and the sector hunkers down for a winter of building, rather than buying. On the other side of this shift, we can look forward to new models, a vibrant used EV market, and a bevy of new places to charge those vehicles.

Here’s your catch-up on this week’s EVI developments across Canada and the US ⤵️

📢 EVI Experts Pearce Services Acquired by Real Estate Giant CBRE

News - In a sweeping infrastructure acquisition, commercial real estate giant CBRE is buying Pearce Services, a name most familiar to EV drivers on construction fences at future charging sites.

Numbers - $1.2 billion is the price tag of Pearce for CBRE, although it is the breakdown of the former’s business operations that is most relevant to the EV world. Although only 7% of Pearce’s revenue this year will come from EV charging, adding renewable energy generation and storage projects brings the total to more than one-third of the company’s expected 2025 revenue. As battery storage and charging increasingly align, the acquisition gives CBRE important expertise in both areas.

Nuance - The acquisition is, of course, much larger than EV charging. Pearce is heavily involved in the infrastructure of other major sectors, such as telecommunications and data centers. But the unification of numerous overlapping industries, such as chargers and connectivity or energy storage and bidirectional power, is intriguing. Though data centers and AI will hold the headlines, acquiring Pearce also brings CBRE an experienced, technically skilled workforce to service the growing demand for EV charging infrastructure across its expansive portfolio of commercial real estate.

Next Up - With the acquisition complete, CBRE will explore and assess the various arms of Pearce's advanced technical services to be integrated into its extensive global client base. For North America, CBRE consistently highlights the US as a primary driver of its real estate portfolio, which comprises more than 19,000 managed properties globally. Streamlining the path to bring charging and storage systems to even a small percentage of these locations would be a notable boost for EV infrastructure.

🔍 Charging Vendor Spotlight: Red E

News - Detroit-based Red E posted strong DCFC activation numbers in the third quarter of 2025 and shows little sign of slowing the pace as the year wraps up.

Numbers - 344 fast charging locations in 40 states and one province (Ontario). Expand the scope to include L2 charging, and Red E is closing in on 700 locations in the AFDC. 36% of the DCFC sites are in its home state of Michigan, with Massachusetts the next largest market at 16%.

Nuance - Red E is one of the more diverse vendors when it comes to charging equipment, with at least five different hardware partners at its locations over the years. AUTEL is the most commonly seen manufacturer here in New England, but we’ve also seen sites with chargers from Tritium in the early days, as well as ADS-TEC, and ABB. More recently, Red E’s sites at ALDI stores in New York have also deployed Lincoln Electric’s Velion line of fast chargers.

Next Up - Illinois and New York, each at 5% of Red E’s total DC site count, appear to be the next logical markets into which Red E could expand its presence. An increasingly productive partnership with ALDI could be relevant to each market, as the first locations have been energized in New York and the retailer’s second-largest US presence is in Illinois, with more than 200 stores in the state. Back in its home state, Red E also has 25 NEVI awards to complete across Michigan.

🔌AC/DC: Michigan Awards Almost $2M for AC Charging via CFCI Funding

News: Rounds 1 and 2 of Michigan’s Clean Fueling and Charging Infrastructure (CFCI) awards will allocate $1.84 million for L2 charging installations across the state.

Numbers: The funding goes to 21 first-round awards and 10 second-round awards, for a total of 31 projects at multi-family dwellings (MFDs) in Michigan. That relatively small portion of the $30 million grant program will fund 201 new AC charging spots, with the promise of more to come in future rounds.

Nuance: Although individual grant awards are capped at $300,000 by the CFCI program, none of the rounds 1 and 2 projects breach the six-figure mark. This shows the broader impact of EVI funding for L2, when compared to a DCFC build, where the total amount involved here would barely cover three small DC locations. CFCI applicants must also match 30% of the requested funds, ensuring they have a stake in every installation.

Next Up: The Michigan agencies responsible for CFCI grants will release an additional RFP for round 3 and beyond in the next few months. The program’s funds must be expended by Sept. 30th, 2027, with Michigan targeting “sufficient infrastructure for 2 million EVs” in the state by 2030.

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🛣️ On the Road: This Week in DCFC

News - A big week for AFDC additions, with a Tesla data drop catching up Supercharger additions and juicing the numbers. Meanwhile, IONNA, Red E, Flo, ChargePoint, and BC Hydro were all active with multiple new charging locations.

Numbers - 593 DC charging ports at 72 charging locations were added to the Alternative Fuels Data Center this week, spread across 28 states and provinces.

Notable New Stations + AFDC Additions:

⭕ Red E continues to build towards another high-performing quarter, with 26 ports added across seven locations in six states this week. The largest site has four AUTEL Maxichargers serving eight stalls at a retail plaza in Whitinsville, MA, while another location in partnership with Aldi is open in Buffalo, NY. The state with two Red E activations is Missouri, where regional c-store chain Acee’s now offers charging at its Cape Girardeau and Gordonsville locations.

🛫 bp pulse energized another airport-adjacent Gigahub, this time with 16 stalls next to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International in Florida. Unlike the recent hub activated in Houston, TX, which is larger but maxes out at 150kW with Tritium hardware, this new Florida site also adds Alpitronic Hyperchargers, raising maximum power to 400kW.

🔴 In addition to the Tesla locations identified in Edition 43, which didn’t enter the AFDC listings that week, the company confirmed 164 new Supercharger stalls across 12 locations in nine states this week. The largest is in Ehrenberg, AZ, with 24 stalls, while a 12-stall site in Kane, PA, demonstrates Tesla’s potential to bridge secondary routes. Kane is located in a relatively remote stretch of northern Pennsylvania, serving US-6 and US-219.

🟠 IONNA picked up the pace this week, with three new Rechargeries open. The first location, in conjunction with Casey’s, opened in Blackwell, OK - also the state’s first IONNA site - along with two additional locations in Florida. Both of those are at Wawa c-stores, in Bradenton and Fort Pierce, joining Daytona Beach as the three active in the state.

🔷 EVgo activated a new retail plaza location with six stalls at the Heritage Square Shopping Center in Fresno, CA.

⚡ The latest Kwik Charge location in Wisconsin is finally open, after a few weeks of pre-commissioning complications. The Kwik Trip in Pleasant Prairie, WI, hosts the chain’s seventh charging station, which is also the state’s 11th NEVI site activated.

🫎 Minnesota Power activated one of the 16 locations it announced in September, with a new station in Long Prairie, MN. This joins a site in Duluth, with both locations bringing valuable fast-charging additions to parts of the state with limited options.

🛌 A new ChargeSmart EV site in Queensbury, NY, brings eight new fast-charging stalls to the Home2 Suites hotel. The adjacent parking lot is also home to a Rivian Adventure Network station and a Tesla Supercharger just down the hill from these two options, making this something of a charging haven for travelers on the Adirondack Northway.

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, or Under Construction 🚧

🚨 A handy selection of Superchargers identified in permitting by MarcoRP this week, complementing the Tesla data drop of the company’s latest activations. New Superchargers are slated for Irvine and Temple City, CA, as well as eight stalls set for Mission, TX. A new Semicharger service center in City of Industry, CA, is also permitted, building out HDEV infrastructure, while a formerly identified Supercharger site in Champaign, IL, could become the first full V4 Supercharger (posts and cabinets) to be installed outside of California.

🚧 Construction is ongoing at 20+ IONNA locations across the United States, most of which will be energized this year. This includes the location in Simsbury, CT, pictured above, which will mark one of the network’s first Rechargeries sited away from both a primary travel corridor and a major metro area. In permitting, AlejandroEV66 shared a new IONNA permit in Massachusetts, featuring a full canopy and driver lounge, in Wakefield, MA, and another in Surprise, AZ, while we also expect progress on some key California locations in the next few weeks (so stay tuned to future editions!)

🪙 NEVI had a quiet week, overall, but construction is progressing at awarded locations in Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Utah, among others. Check out the nearest NEVI sites underway in your area via our progress tracking map.

💲October EVCPI Shows Ongoing DCFC Price Volatility

News - Price shifts at DC fast chargers monitored by Plug & Play EV’s monthly EVCPI (Charging Price Index) logged greater volatility in October compared to the prior month, with one-third of locations posting some degree of change in DCFC price per kWh.

Numbers - 33.5% of the 500+ index locations posted price changes in October, up from 26.5% of the index in September. In both months, the majority of changes trended upward, with 25.3% of sites registering price increases in October. Only 8.2% of locations registered price cuts for peak pricing, although decreases to off-peak rates were more common, often to offset a corresponding peak price increase at time-of-use locations.

Nuance - Despite these increases, the national average price of DCFC sites in our index remains at $0.54 per kWh. That’s because 60% of the price increases were in the range of 1 to 3 cents per kWh. Combined with price decreases, this kept the overall average level with September prices (which had risen by $0.01 per kWh on average, compared to August 2025). The takeaway is that a handful of charging vendors are increasingly tinkering with select site pricing as electricity rates continue to trend upward, but neither sweeping rate increases nor network-wide pricing discounts are on the cards (for now).

Next Up - Members of our monthly pricing updates will receive a full EVCPI breakdown for October, including monthly trend analysis, later this week. We’ll also have a specific holiday travel pricing focus later this month for all subscribers, tracking Thanksgiving discounts and regional trends.

🚛🚖 Fleet Focus: Blink Charging Unveils New Options for MFD and Fleet Deployment

News - Following the acquisition of Zemetric over the summer, Blink unveiled its new Shasta line of charging products this week.

Numbers - The Shasta AC chargers offer two power levels, one at 48 amps for power delivery up to 11.5 kW, and an 80 amp version capable of up to 19.2 kW.

Nuance - “Scalable” is the watchword for Blink’s move towards greater market share in the fleet charging arena. The need for systems that deliver increased operational visibility and flexibility for electric fleet managers - systems that can then scale as fleet electrification expands - is mentioned in both the Zemetric and Shasta news announcements. Adding Zemetric’s technical team to the Blink stable has evidently informed the development of this new product line, such as former CEO Harmeet Singh, who became Blink’s Chief Technology Officer following the acquisition.

Next Up - New products and targeted market expansion are critical to Blink’s future, following revenue misses reported in its Q325 earnings. If the Shasta line of products proves suitably compelling for fleet operators in terms of features and cost reduction, integrating Zemetric’s qualities into its offering could prove to be one of Blink’s better decisions.

🎧 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 tune into the first episodes of the Trail Marker podcast from Rangeway Energy.

🎧Trail Marker Episode 1, covering the roots of reimagining EV charging💡

Host and founder Zak Winnick is open about the journey that brought him to creating Rangeway, a startup aiming for the intersection of hospitality and EV charging.

Company pods can be a mixed bag, but this one hits all the right notes from the off, blending engaging storytelling with a transparent look at the daunting task of entering the complicated world of building out charging infrastructure.

🔋💯 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:

Greenlane selects Relion for fleet charging operations management

Terawatt Infrastructure hosts a site tour of Rialto, CA hub this Friday (11/14/25)

Curbside charging players among DTE’s Emerging Technology Fund recipients

Ivy Charging adds ABB’s new C50 fast chargers for longer dwell retail locations

Ontario’s ChargeON funding program reopened and runs through 12/15/25

Oregon’s latest round of funding for L2 charging opened last week 

Colorado DCFC Plazas funding round open (deadline 12/5/25 @ 5PM)

MCPA Minnesota corridor DCFC grants opened this week with a $1.89M budget - Apply here (deadline: 12/9/25 @ 4PM)

Now in phase 2, Arizona is accepting bids for 34 NEVI stations (deadline: 1/16/26)

California’s FCCP incentives program application period has been extended into next year (new deadline: 1/29/26) — assistance with applications is available here

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 - Brian Riebe

📍Charging Site of the Week: Windsor, VT (Flo @ Harpoon Brewery)