Electrify America, the nationwide charging network set up by Volkswagen as part of a post-‘dieselgate’ deal with authorities, today announced a new design for some of its future charging stations.
The company will also introduce a new charger with functional updates.
The so called ‘Charging Station of the Future Today’ will add solar canopies and awnings, customer waiting areas and other services at some locations.
Installations in 2022 and 2023 of new flagship facilities in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, San Diego and Beverly Hills, California and in New York (Manhattan and Brooklyn) will introduce the new look and function. Currently flagship charging stations are in Baker and Santa Clara, California.
“Electrify America will be reinventing the look and feel at many of our charging stations to meet and exceed the expectations of customers moving from a petrol-powered vehicle to an electric lifestyle,” said Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO of Electrify America. “These new designs will help elevate the charging experience for our customers, building on the foundation of our ultra-fast and reliable coast-to-coast network.”
The bold and innovative design concepts create planned, comfortable spaces focused on enhancing the human experience. Using spatial, behavioral and emotional layers, the renderings for future stations evoke a dynamic new environment for electric vehicle charging. The Electrify America team leading the new station design vision has integrated in-depth customer feedback and insights from trend research and leading architecture and construction consultants to increase the focus in bringing human-centered and unique community-centric design strategies to the charging experience.
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 while stations at shopping locations may also offer valet charging and curbside delivery options.
Electrify America is currently adding solar awnings to up to 500 individual chargers at 100 charging stations across the country. As well as providing shelter from the sun and weather, the energy captured by the solar awnings will be used to help power the station’s operations.
The company has already installed solar canopies at Baker and Santa Clara and energy from these is also routed to the onsite battery energy storage systems, capturing energy to help charge electric vehicles.
The redesigned chargers offer up to 150 and 350 kilowatts of charging power and retain their distinctive green lighting.
They also have a recessed and brighter HMI screen to help reduce the glare from sunlight making it easier for customers to view operating instructions and charging progress.
A single connector cable with new cable management system will reduce effort to plug in the cable no matter where the charging is located on an EV.
A reduced footprint for both the charger and power cabinets will allow installation of more equipment in space limited, urban locations.