Electrify America will install ultrafast EV chargers at over 25 IKEA US locations

[Flashy McLightning]

I pass the IKEA in Kansas at least once a week. I’m going to own so many bookshelves.

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[F-150 Prius]

https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/191

IKEA U.S. and Electrify America announce collaboration for ultra-fast public and fleet charging at over 25 IKEA retail locations

August 11, 2022

IKEA U.S. will quadruple its total number of electric vehicle chargers, a big step toward the IKEA global circular and climate positive goals

Conshohocken, PA – August 11, 2022 – To help reach the IKEA ambition to become a circular and climate positive business by 2030, IKEA U.S. today announced a collaboration with Electrify America and Electrify Commercial to bring ultra-fast public charging stations and delivery fleet electric vehicle (EV) charging to over 25 IKEA retail locations throughout the U.S. This joint effort will enable IKEA U.S. to quadruple its total number of EV chargers, which supports the goal of achieving zero-emission home deliveries by 2025 and halving relative emissions from customer and co-worker travel by 2030.

“At IKEA, we believe that we must work together with our partners to tackle climate change and create solutions for a greener future. This collaboration with Electrify America will not only bring ultra-fast public chargers to our stores for the first time but it will also help us take a big leap as we work towards our targets to become circular and climate positive,” said Javier Quiñones, CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA U.S. “We look forward to continuing to innovate around new ways we can make our everyday lives more sustainable.”

In total, there will be more than 200 individual ultra-fast chargers offering the fastest charging speeds available today – 150kW to 350kW – at IKEA retail locations in 18 states including in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington. The first locations are expected to open in late 2022 and be completed by the end of 2023.

For its EV delivery fleet, IKEA selected Electrify Commercial, Electrify America’s business unit designed to help deliver turnkey electric vehicle charging solutions, to provide more than 225 individual chargers across the sites. This is the first time Electrify America and Electrify Commercial are installing both public and fleet chargers at the same time for a project.

“We are excited to establish both public and commercial fleet charging stations with IKEA – a brand that shares our goal of a more sustainable future,” said Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO of Electrify America. “Through this collaboration, Electrify America, Electrify Commercial and IKEA U.S. are leading a path forward for customers and businesses toward zero-emission transportation.”

Since opening its first charging station in May 2018, Electrify America has set a rapid pace for its network expansion, opening an average of nearly four stations per week. Currently, Electrify America has more than 800 stations and 3,500 individual chargers open with plans to expand to 1,800 charging stations comprised of 10,000 individual chargers in the United States and Canada by 2026.

I don't "get" the operational "synergy" between discount flatpack furniture, horse meat pasta and an unreliable charging network … 3 wrongs make a right?
Why put "ultra" fast chargers in suburbia where "bedroom community" consumers buy plastic furniture?
Surely these sites would be (somewhat better) suited to banks of L2 chargers for urban vehicles.

Today, charging is a 30-60 minute waste of daylight. That's a battery chemistry problem, not a charger performance problem … faster chargers are a solution to a problem that doesn't exist (yet.)

I want "ultra" fast chargers right on the freeway at 20 mile intervals. Four charging pedestals in a small "node" to be able to stop and charge right when the vehicle is down to 5% … and be confident that if I miscalculate, there's a "bail out" charging location a bit closer than the one I targeted. No need to plan my trip around the needs of the EV.

I think the EV charging network solution is many more small sites, not large sites. I think the long game solution is battery technology equivalent to gasoline – the same performance as filling 20 gallons in a 20 mpg pickup, but the EV will be 100 mpge and its "5 gallon" tank will be ten cents per gallon, not $4/gallon.

I do not want more of the existing system (Tesla Supercharging) which requires "timing" the charging to suit the locations of large "nodes" of chargers (8 or 16 or more) at a densely trafficked shopping mall a few miles away from anywhere (based on low cost real estate for giant stores) or scattered at 100 mile intervals along a few Interstates. I've been Supercharging for 7+ years … it's not a good solution and it's getting worse, not better.

I don't want the government to allow corporations to privatize electric vehicle charging – just like Tesla, they'll keep cranking up the price (it used to be free, then 5 cents, then 25 cents, now 45 or 50 cents, plus charges and fees and penalties) and they'll replace their gasoline revenues with EV charging revenues. They'll build just enough locations to maximize profits and users will never get a complete solution because there's no profit in solving a problem – there's profit in creating a problem then getting paid for a recurring 10 year contract to never actually fix it.

I want charging to be a "stop n go" 15 minute rest –stretch the legs, check email, read more worrying news about do-nothing corporatocracy governments failing to respond to the environmental catastrophe, floods and droughts, wildfires and the extinction of glaciers – then back on the road with no detours, no waiting in line, no slow charging because there's too many people plugged in at the same location.

In the future, I don't want charging to be a recreational event that takes 30+ minutes requiring me and my family to kill time doing something we wouldn't bother doing unless I had to schedule my itinerary to please the EV (which is the exact opposite of what will lead to the successful adoption of EVs to replace ICE vehicles.)

 

[jazzmanmonty]

The words ultrafast should not be assimilated to IKEA because there's nothing fast about getting thru their maze. i can plug into 110 and by the time I managed to get out of there I'd probably be at 100%

 

[hturnerfamily]

I assume you're talking about Barrett Place. Those are relatively old ABB chargers which are notoriously unreliable, especially compared to the newer Signet chargers. I assume Barrett Place will be among the first to get the next gen chargers.

Incidentally, Barrett place was the first fast-charging station I visited when I got my first electric car back in 2020.

right, but they actually have not been there very 'long', as they have two 350kw units. One of those plugs, though, had a large part of the end broken off, almost as it someone couldn't get it to 'release' from their vehicle, so they broke it off in the process... strange. It looks like no EA maintenance personnel have been there for a LOOOONG time. Also, the units, even the non-operational ones, have the 'green lights', yet they do not operate. Some screens are operational, yet when you plug in it gives you a message that it is 'updating it's software'... others are just blank screens, and yet the EA app says that they are operational - baloney.

 

[rlbussard]

Maybe EA should think about putting some DC fast chargers along the I-20 corridor between Eastland, TX and Birmingham, AL. 770 miles strip without a single DC fast charger installed.

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