Written by / Zhu Lin
Editor/ Zhang Linyu
Design / Shi Yuchao
Source:futurecar, thedetroitbureau, by Eric Walz, Paul A. Eisenstein
There is no endurance anxiety that one cup of coffee can't solve, and if not, then two cups.
This is good news for electric car owners on the West Coast of the United States. On the 1,350-mile road from Seattle, Washington, to Denver, Colorado, there are a number of Starbucks coffee shops that will allow you to charge your electric car while enjoying your coffee.
Volvo Cars USA is building a public charging network for electric vehicles that connects Seattle and Denver. They set up charging piles at 15 Starbucks along the way, enabling electric car drivers to travel between two cities without worrying about running out of battery.
Up to 60 Volvo-branded DC fast charging piles will be installed from the summer of 2022 and operated by ChargePoint, all of which are expected to be installed by the end of the year.
Pasquale Romano, president and CEO of ChargePoint, said: "ChargePoint is working to give motorists the opportunity to charge their electric vehicles wherever they go. ”
"We are excited to support Volvo Cars' path to electrification and help provide a premium driving experience for our customers, and we have planned charging stations around their favorite Starbucks stores in selected destinations on the West Coast."
Internet to recharge while drinking coffee
The route, which connects Denver and Seattle, will provide a convenient and reliable place for electric drivers to and from the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest to park and recharge. Volvo says the public charging network will make it as easy to charge its vehicles as it would to go to Starbucks.
"Volvo wants to give people the freedom to move and reduce their impact on the environment." Anders Gustafsson, vice president and CEO of Volvo Cars Americas, said, "By partnering with Starbucks, we can do this to provide a pleasant place for electric car owners to relax when the car is charged." ”
The initial network will install four fast charging stations at each site, with an average interval of about 100 miles, which is enough for most new electric vehicles that can easily travel more than 200 miles when fully charged.
The 1,350-mile electric vehicle charging network will use ChargePoint DC fast charging piles, which will be able to charge the Volvo C40 Recharge electric SUV from 20% to 90% in about 40 minutes, and these charging stations are located at Starbucks, which means that eviction drivers can enjoy a cup of coffee or a snack while waiting for the vehicle to charge.
The Volvo C40 Recharge also has Google's Android car operating system built into the vehicle's infotainment system. C40 drivers can use the ChargePoint app integrated into the vehicle's system to locate and get navigation of nearby Starbucks charging stations.
Drivers of Volvo EVs will also receive the added benefit of using these charging stations for free or at a discounted price, as all 2022 Volvo EVs come standard with 250 kWh of DC Express (CCS) and Level 2 charging for 3 years, followed by a 12-month Pass+ membership from charging supplier Electrify America to meet charging needs at sites outside of Starbucks.
Other EV owners can use the ChargePoint smartphone app to find and use charging piles. All electric vehicle drivers can use these charging stations for a fee.
Starbucks hopes to lead the retail industry in carbon reduction solutions by providing electric vehicle charging and solar power supply in its stores and neighboring areas. The coffee chain plans to expand its solar pilot to 55 new stores in 2022.
Starbucks isn't the only one doing so either, with Bank of America starting to install charging piles at some of its branches in 2019, while Walmart has added charging piles to its stores in 34 U.S. states.
Volvo's electrification plans
In 2021, Volvo announced that it is transforming into a pure electric vehicle manufacturer by 2030. Building a convenient EV charging network throughout North America will help achieve this goal.
The company is electrifying its entire model lineup, which will replace all of its internal combustion engine models. The Volvo C40 Recharge is the company's second all-electric model.
In the meantime, Volvo aims to see hybrid models account for 50 percent of its products by 2025, but will eventually be replaced by pure electric vehicles in 2030.
In March 2021, when Volvo announced its ambitions for pure electrification, Chief Technology Officer Henrik Green said: "There is no long-term future for internal combustion engine cars. ”
"We are firmly committed to becoming a manufacturer of pure electric vehicles, and this transition should be achieved by 2030. This will allow us to meet our customers' expectations and be part of the solution in addressing climate change. ”
Volvo's transformation into a pure electric vehicle company is partly to combat climate change and adapt to industry changes. Now, the global automotive industry is rapidly moving towards electrification, from the mainstream general to the niche Bentley, all plan to achieve 100% electrification, other companies are planning to follow suit.
In the United States, President Biden has set a goal of 50 percent of plug-in models in sales by around 2030. Some analysts believe that the market can reach this goal faster, and building a viable charging network is the key to this goal.
Biden plans to spend billions of dollars from the 2021 Infrastructure Bill to fund a network that expects 500,000 charging piles to be in place by 2030. Some parts of the United States already have good public charging services, especially on the Pacific coast. However, finding a public charging station in many other parts of the country can be difficult.
Volvo and Starbucks projects are expected to play an important role in achieving this goal. Most of the routes they will cover are now "charging deserts," Michael Kobori, Starbucks' chief sustainability officer, said in an interview.
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