Range Anxiety Receding as Chargers Multiply. And they Have Waffles.

Waffle House a leader in deployment as fast charging soars.

Waffle House.

Bloomberg:

At the current pace, public fast-charging sites will outnumber gas stations in the US in about eight years — but charger momentum is only expected to accelerate. North American operators will spend a collective $6.1 billion on charging infrastructure this year, nearly double their 2023 investment, according to BloombergNEF estimates. That annual spend is expected to double again by 2030.

“We’re seeing demand for fast charging skyrocket,” said Sara Rafalson, executive vice president at EVgo Inc., which operates almost 1,000 stations in the US. “We’re continuing to build bigger and bigger stations because we need to keep up with that demand.”

EV cords are increasingly being added by retailers eager to attract the nearly 10% of US car buyers who are plugging into battery-powered vehicles. Gas station operators, in particular, are jumping on the electron bandwagon. In the second quarter, Shell debuted 30 new charging stations, while Enel opened 11, Pilot Travel Centers opened eight and another seven showed up at Flying J rest stops, according to the federal tally. 

“We’re getting past a turning point where fueling stations and convenience stores are really seeing the value proposition,” said Sam Houston, senior vehicles analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It’s a very welcome turn from how they were behaving in the regulatory space even as recently as a couple years ago.” 

U.S. Bank also sees EV charging as business development: It switched on chargers at 39 branches in California in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Waffle House added charging cords to the parking lots at two of its Florida restaurants.

Triple Pundit:

The inclusion of Waffle House in the Tennessee EV charging station program is all the more impressive because competition for the installation contracts was fierce. Only 30 new charging stations are planned for the first round of buildout, but the state Department of Transportation received applications for contracts covering 167 different locations.

The department ultimately awarded contracts to 10 charging station installers based on a long list of requirements for the charging stations and their proposed locations. The Georgia EV charging station firm EnviroSpark was one of the 10 contract awardees, and it will partner with Waffle House to install four fast chargers at a location in Lakeland, about 25 miles outside Memphis.

“Like all Waffle House locations, the restaurant at 9780 U.S. Highway 64 in Lakeland is open 24/7,” according to EnviroSpark, noting that around-the-clock operation is one of the requirements to receive funding under the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. 

Waffle House did not issue a press statement to mark the occasion, but EnviroSpark hailed: “Waffle House, a culinary icon of the South, and famous for its commitment to customer satisfaction and community engagement, is embracing the opportunity to contribute to the green energy movement.”
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By the way, reports of a slump in EV sales greatly exaggerated:

Bloomberg:

For every sign of an EV slowdown, another suggests an adolescent industry on the verge of its next growth spurt. In fact, for most automakers, even the first quarter was a blockbuster. Six of the 10 biggest EV makers in the US saw sales grow at a scorching pace compared to a year ago — up anywhere from 56% at Hyundai-Kia to 86% at Ford. A sampling of April sales similarly came in hot.