Electrify America has announced a new design vision for some of its future charging stations. The company says it will be introducing its next generation charger with functional design updates to improve the hands-on charging experience for the customer.
Electrify America says it has sharpened the focus on customer needs and reimagined the charging experience by introducing “The Charging Station of the Future, Today” which can add design and comfort elements such as solar canopies and awnings, customer waiting areas and other customer-focused services at select locations.
The company plans to showcase this transition with installation in 2022 and 2023 in select new flagship charging facilities in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, San Diego and Beverly Hills, California and in New York within Manhattan and Brooklyn. Currently, the company has flagship charging stations located in Baker, California and Santa Clara, California.
With some of the new showcase stations featuring up to 20 ultra-fast DC chargers, the company is looking to add a number of options at various locations including:
- Customer lounges, electric vehicle showcase areas, dedicated event space
- Overhead solar canopies to shield customers from the sun and inclement weather
- On-site security cameras and additional lighting
- Charging stations located at select shopping locations may offer valet charging and curbside delivery options
Electrify America is currently adding solar awnings to 400-500 individual chargers at 100 charging stations across the country. In addition to providing shelter from the sun and weather elements, the energy captured by the solar awnings will be utilized to help power the station’s operations.
The company has already installed solar canopies at its flagship charging stations in Baker and Santa Clara, CA. The solar energy from these solar canopies is also routed to the onsite battery energy storage systems onsite, capturing energy to help charge electric vehicles.
Electrify America says it will also begin the rollout of a redesigned electric vehicle charger with functional and design features to simplify the customer experience. The ultra-fast chargers with up to 150 and 350 kW of charging power will keep Electrify America’s green glow and will be 8 feet tall. The next-generation charger will also feature:
- A new design that refines the look and reduces the footprint of the charger
- A recessed and brighter HMI (human-machine interface) screen to help reduce the glare from sunlight making it easier for customers to view the operational instructions and charging progress
- A single connector cable with an all-new cable management system to ease the effort to plug in the cable no matter where the charging port resides on a customer’s EV
- A reduced footprint of both the charger and power cabinets will allow installation of more equipment in space constrained, urban locations.
By expanding the deployment of onsite battery energy storage systems (BESS) to more than 150 stations, the company continues to build on previous investments to help manage the energy load to the grid and capture excess solar energy where possible, the company says.
