Volvo Cars and Starbucks announced a pilot partnership that could bring fast EV chargers to up to 15 of the coffee giant's locations along a route from Denver to Seattle.
The project is expected to deploy up to 60 ChargePoint DC Fast Chargers at Starbucks locations about 100 miles apart along the 1,350-mile route. The charging network should be complete by the end of the year, the companies said.
The chargers will be open to drivers of non-Volvo EVs, as well.
An inadequate charging network remains a limiting factor for EV uptake in the U.S.
According to the policy think tank Third Way, the U.S. needs more than 1 million new charging stations to support President Biden's goal of EVs accounting for 50% of car sales by 2030.
The administration wants to deploy 500,000 EV chargers across the U.S. as part of a national network. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $5 billion of funds for states to build out the network, along with $2.5 billion to ensure the network doesn't leave behind rural and disadvantaged communities.
There are currently 113,907 electric vehicle charging ports at 45,906 stations in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy.
