Good day, fellow Electron Enthusiast,

That Spring construction spike we’d been anticipating? It appears a fresh quarter is all that charging providers were really waiting for. And, increasingly, it’s powered by Alpitronic.

Three rising players and the industry originator went big to mark the first day of Q2 this week, from Kwik Trip almost doubling its Kwik Charge presence in Wisconsin to Walmart entering new states on April 1st (no fooling) and Tesla doing its thing with sites that help take the company past 80,000 Superchargers, globally. 80K was passed in France, but 47% of them are in the US, and Canada rounds that up to almost half in North America.

With so much happening on the ground here, let’s dive right into the latest EVI developments across Canada and the US ⤵️

News - DC charging hardware manufacturer Alpitronic’s HYC400 dominated installations outside of the Supercharger network in the first quarter of 2026, deploying almost 300 more ports than the closest competitor, Delta Electronics.

Numbers - Alpitronic hardware was used at more than 80 charging locations energized in Q126, adding almost 700 new DCFC ports across 25 states and one Canadian province (BC). This equates to around 27% of the Q1 hardware market, excluding Superchargers, and represents a remarkable YOY surge. Alpitronic was just gaining momentum in the first quarter of 2025 and represented only about 5% of non-Supercharger deployments.

Nuance - While it’s important to note that Tesla retains a healthy lead in the continent’s Q126 hardware market, with Superchargers at 27% compared to Alpitronic’s 17%, the latter’s YOY surge shows how quickly a new entrant can penetrate the North American market with the right hardware solution and network partners. Locking in IONNA, for example, makes that network’s progress of 1,000+ ports in a little over a year synonymous with growth for Alpitronic, which provides 100% of the CPO’s chargers. That streak should continue into the second quarter, with projects like Walmart also leaning heavily into the HYC400 for its sites (alongside the ABB A400, which appears at roughly one-third of Walmart’s open sites, with Alpitronic taking the other two-thirds).

Next Up - We’ll be diving into the hardware market with a special quarterly report later this month, comparing how Alpitronic and other major charger manufacturers stack up to the DCFC dominance of Tesla Superchargers, which represent around 30% of the market once factored in.

If you’re interested in receiving more details on this side of the industry, reply to this email with “hardware” in the subject line and/or body text.

News - Walmart used the new month/season to drop the hammer on its potentially massive EV Charging expansion, officially energizing 7 sites across 5 states this week, including debut locations in New Jersey and South Carolina.

Numbers - The bumper week of activity brings Walmart EV Charging up to 31 of its own-brand DCFC locations in 9 states (AL/AR/AZ/FL/GA/NJ/OK/SC/TX). That footprint comprises 268 stalls, with a straight 50/50 split between CCS1 and NACS-J3400 handles.

Nuance - While the main news lies in a flurry of activations and new states, there’s much more going on beneath the surface of Walmart’s massive expansion plans. For example, hiring is underway for a Senior Innovations Manager (EVC + Energy) and a related business development role at a similar level. The latter will “drive the Sam’s Club EV launch,” which has been mooted for years with very little concrete information, until now. I covered the potential implications of these roles in an interview with The Arkansas eTraveler. Landon also unpacks many of the latest developments, although things are moving so fast that not all of this week’s activations are covered!

Next Up - Building, hiring, and expansion to a whole new wing of the Walmart Universe, as the Sam’s Club launch plan is hatched… where to begin, in terms of importance?! On the ground, watch for 50+ Walmart stores with confirmed construction to put new states on the board throughout spring, including Illinois, North Carolina, Missouri, and Utah.

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News - AC charging additions bounced back this week, albeit with limited expansion in Canada. The port count is boosted in part by SynergEV, which contributed 17% of this week’s additions by transferring existing sites to its network. ChargePoint still contributes more than two-thirds of the station listings from the past 7 days, as befits a company that makes up more than 40% of the AC charging landscape.

Numbers - 661 L2 charging ports added to the Alternative Fuels Data Center this week, spread across 29 states and 4 Canadian provinces.

Notable New L2 + AFDC Additions:

🟠 ChargePoint added 479 ports across the United States and Canada. 44 new L2 stalls at Ontario City Hall in California account for an impressive 9% of that total at a single location. Other notable new additions are found in East Haven, CT, which brings 26 new ports to 13 locations across various municipal sites, and 10 ports for residents of the Brix property in Montreal, QC.

🔷 FLO added 22 AC ports across 7 locations, 3 of which are in Franklin Township, NJ. Another 3 ports in Chilliwack, BC, bring more destination charging to a city the network already serves with a fast-charging option in the same lot.

◾ Blink Charging added 14 new ports at 2 charging locations in Florida and Indiana.

🏙️ Enertech shared a video of new chargers available at the Lakeshore at Centerra property, one of several installations the company has deployed in Loveland, CO.

🔶 EV Gateway added 20 ports at a single site in California, bringing ample overnight charging options to the Vagabond Inn in Costa Mesa, CA. While that’s undoubtedly an impressive installation and we’d never dismiss AC charging, it’s hard to overlook the shiny new ROVE Charging Hub less than two miles down Harbor Blvd. Ribbon cutting this Wednesday for that fancy new facility!

🗽 ChargeSmart EV added four new L2 stalls at the Maplewood Nature Center in Rochester, NY.

📊 SynergEV’s data drop boosts the total to just over 100 ports across 32 locations in 12 states. All of the locations seem to be at auto dealers, indicating more of a client and service amenity than true public destination charging, which brings us to… 👇

💬 We covered the relative lethargy of true public AC charging deployments this week on the Coast-to-Coast EVs podcast, especially when compared to the ongoing DCFC boom in North America. The wide-ranging conversation explores what EV drivers want from longer-dwell-time charging sites, which you can check out in the video below.

News - A slow week for Canadian activations, but the US posts excellent numbers due to a spree of new sites energized by Kwik Trip, Pilot-Flying J, Tesla, and this week’s spotlight vendor, Walmart EV Charging. Another batch of existing sites transferred to relatively new provider SynergEV also bolsters the US side for the past seven days.

Numbers - 549 DC charging ports at 108 charging locations added to the Alternative Fuels Data Center this week, spread across 27 states and 3 provinces.

Check out the DCFCtracker.com site to see a map of the latest AFDC additions, which can also be filtered down to the past week or month. The green dots are locations transitioned to SynergEV.

Notable New Locations + AFDC Additions:

🛒 Walmart went to town on its activations, officially lighting up several new sites that we’ve flagged in previous editions. Indian Land, SC, and Freehold, NJ, mark the retailer’s first charging sites in those states, bringing its total to 9 states with 31 locations overall. The other 5 cover markets in which Walmart has already opened charging sites: Arizona, Florida, and Texas.

🗽 EVolve NY is making moves into one of the toughest markets for DCFC: the 5 boroughs of New York City. Hot on the heels of the LaGuardia ribbon-cutting in February, another Queens site is now open in Flushing. It is the first of 10 new locations planned by NYC DOT and NYPA, bringing 66 chargers to the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens over the next 12 months.

🔴 Tesla Charging opened 12 new Superchargers across 8 states, but no provinces this week. The largest brings 20 stalls to University Commons in Round Rock, TX, while 8 in Greenwood, IN, deliver the first full V4/500kW-capable Superchargers in the Midwest.

⚪ Included in Tesla’s count is another white-labeled Supercharger (for Business -- SfB) site, courtesy of AC Customs in Belleville, KS. Francis Energy also energized two more Oklahoma sites that have been upgraded to SfB, this time in Muskogee and OK City (N. Lincoln Boulevard).

📍 Not to be outdone by the industry leader or its rising rivals, Pilot-Flying J also posted strong numbers at its travel centers this week. With 7 locations energized in as many states, it will be a sight for sore eyes as EV drivers hit the road for spring travel/begin planning summer road trips. Sites in Greenfield, IN, and Pacific, MO, are especially welcome, given the relative lack of high-power DCFC options in those states, although Marion, IN, is the one we really want to see light up, to ease summer travel on I-69.

🛍️ bp pulse shifted gears this week, moving from big Gigahubs near major airports to more retail-focused endeavors, with 20 new stalls at the Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, MI. The location is right off I-94, so it still serves as a potential charging option for travelers, but it will also serve local renters and marks a diversification from the network’s primary focus of airports, travel centers, and gas stations. Pricing is also a positive, with ten cents off the regular rate of $0.48/kWh through 4/12/26 (see pricing section below).

🔷 FLO added to the burgeoning activity in the Pacific Northwest with a new location in Moses Lake, WA. Just 100kW hardware here, but it’s reliable and has a CHAdeMO handle, which is music to the ears of the earlier generation of Nissan LEAF drivers who still like to road trip those OG EVs between the state’s Cascades and High Desert regions.

🟦 EVgo had a productive week outside of its Pilot-Flying J participation, posting an impressive 42 stalls across 4 sites in 2 states. 14 stalls at a former Cruise AV lot in San Francisco, CA, stand out, as do 8 stalls at the network’s only non-eXtend activation outside of California this week, not too far from downtown Boston, in Dorchester, MA.

🌊 Kwik Trip made up for a quiet March by roaring into April with five new sites. To put that in context, before this set of activations, the company had 11 Kwik Charge locations open after more than a year in operation. All are NEVI-funded sites in Wisconsin: Cameron, Hixton, Marinette, Plover, and Richfield. Check out the WisconsEV video from Jay Williams below to get a feel for locations and other Kwik Charge sites coming soon.

⚡ With so many 5+ locations open by competitors, IONNA’s activations are rather subsumed this week. Nonetheless, three new Rechargeries in as many states add 22 new ports to the automaker-backed network and mark a solid week of progress after the network passed 1,000 ports. We’ll pick the Oklahoma City Rechargery Relay to spotlight, as it’s only the company’s second in the state and begins to fill out the middle of the country for IONNA.

🟢 In addition to operating the aforementioned Flushing, NY, site for NYPA, Electrify America added 14 ports at two new sites, one in Miami, FL, and the other in partnership with Rocky Mountain Power, opened in Draper, UT.

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

📝 Starting with permitting news, we have new Superchargers found by MarcoRP1 for Portland, OR, Ypsilanti, MI, and Las Vegas, NV (yes, even more Supercharger Heaven for Sin City). Meanwhile, RANtracker confirmed permits are now issued for Rivian’s proposed Adventure Network location in Manchester, CT.

📶 New Tesla 500kW/full V4 Superchargers continue to be added to the pipeline, with sites planned for South Windsor, CT, Tallahassee, FL, and Kennewick, WA.

✅ On the non-Tesla side, Walmart permits were spotted for Henderson, NV, and Kennewick, WA, by AlejandroEV66, and another in Mobile, AL, by Ben, one of the many spotters collaborating with The Arkansas eTraveler’s project tracking.

🚧 Construction reached an advanced stage at the Walmart EV Charging site in Loveland, CO, where ABB units are energized but still behind fences. Staff training is cited by on-site observers as one possibility. Other notable construction is underway for the project in Bonney Lake, WA, and Cranberry, PA.

⚪ Another Supercharger for Business (SfB) site is coming to Boca Raton, FL, with Diamonds by Raymond Lee adding premium charging for its luxury product category. Check out this DBRL Supercharger report from the latest new hire (congrats!) at EV Wire, Simon Alvarez.

Is there an upcoming site in your area that the EV community needs to know about?

Reply to this email with the location and charging provider (if known) and we’ll add it to the next edition 🙌🏻

News - APM Terminals at the Port of Los Angeles has expanded its electric fleet with new Orange EV yard tractors, bringing its total to 22 electric terminal trucks and significantly reducing truck idling time.

Numbers - Truck dwell times dropped from an average of 90 minutes to 35 minutes, reducing idle time by 85%. For overall electrification at the port, 36 electric cars and trucks are in operation, alongside 3 electric straddle carriers, 9 HD electric forklifts and telehandlers, powered by more than 50 charging stations across the facility.

Nuance - The switch to electric terminal operations yielded wider benefits than higher uptime. Rethinking the entire operational flow for electrification also yielded green lanes for ZEVs, tighter gate operations, and closer coordination between rail and yard operators. But uptime proved a key deliverable, as equipment reliability jumped from the low 60s with diesel tractors to a consistent 90% with the US-made Orange EV models.

Next Up - APM Terminals continues to invest significantly in workforce development and technician training to support the port’s ongoing electrification. The terminal currently draws 7 MW of power, with plans to scale to over 18 MW to support expanded EV operations.

News - bp pulse announced spring break savings on DC fast charging, which started on Monday, 30th March and finishes up on Sunday, 12th April, 2026.

Numbers - Drivers can receive $0.10/kWh off the regular rate of their charge at all bp pulse locations, which includes 16 locations at TravelCenters of America facilities and 8 Gigahubs near major metro areas and airports. At our local Boston Gigahub, for example, the already reasonable off-peak rate of $0.35/kWh falls to $0.25/kWh, making it the cheapest option in the area for the duration of this promotion.

Nuance - bp pulse has experimented with various forms of pricing incentives to drive utilization over the past year, from $0.01/kWh at launch events to time-of-use (TOU) rates and lower introductory rates when a site first opens. A 10-cent discount represents a significant slice off rates that are already competitive with the industry’s national average of around $0.50/kWh for DCFC.

Next Up - As spring travel gets underway and the buildup to summer travel begins, EV charging price competition sits in stark contrast to skyrocketing gasoline prices. With so many new entrants to the DCFC space in the US and many new customers expected to enter via the used EV market, promotional pricing is a popular lever to pull and should continue to suppress charging rates for the rest of the year.

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:

NRCan shows 17.4% increase YOY in Canada’s charging infrastructure in 2025

Uber expands “Go Electric” EV incentives of $4,000 to drivers across US

Tesla surpasses 80,000 Supercharger stalls + shares Q126 performance

Ohm Analytics shares summary of Q425 EVI report, inc. commercial charging

XCharge NA + JOJO launch Illinois charging network expansion plans

Franklin’s EV Charging celebrates 4 Years of juicing up in Little Rock, AR

NorCal EVs starts membership drive to expand community + EV advocacy

Maryland’s round 3 NEVI solicitation opened for applications earlier this month

Minnesota’s 3rd round NEVI RFI is open (through 4/30/26) for 74 DCFC sites.

Efficiency Maine is seeking qualified bidders for L2 charging (up to $120K per site)

Pennsylvania offers $100M for community EV charging projects, with different 2026 NOFO windows across the state. Start with the Interested Organizations Survey here.

$10 million available for hotel charging sites via NJ EV Tourism Corridor Charging

The latest round of Colorado’s DCFC Plazas Program is expected soon. Check the general info page to see previous recipients or sign up for the latest dates/news

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

See you next week ⚡

Cheers,

Steve / Plug & Play EV

🎵 ^{Spinning this Sunday: Massive Attack - Mezzanine}

^{📺 Watching this Week: EVCS 2026 Highlights from Electric Duo}