Volvo and Starbucks will launch an EV charging network initially running from Denver to the coffee retailer’s headquarters in Seattle — with the possibility of spreading across the U.S. later.
A total of 60 Volvo-branded chargers will be set up at 15 Starbucks outlets along the 1,350-mile route, the two companies announced Tuesday. Volvo owners will be offered discounted rates, according to a joint statement, though all EV owners will be able to plug in to the network.
“Volvo Cars wants to give people the freedom to move and lower their impact on the environment,” said Anders Gustafsson, president and CEO of Volvo Car USA. “Working with Starbucks we can do that by giving them enjoyable places to relax while their cars recharge.”
More EVs means more chargers
While they still make up a small share of the U.S. new vehicle market, demand for battery-electric vehicles has accelerated during the last several years, sales growing 81% in 2021 and widely forecast to achieve similar growth in 2022. But industry analysts believe the public adoption rate will depend on making public chargers widely available.
About 80% of motorists currently charge at home or office, according to Pat Romano, CEO of Chargepoint, the charger company supplying the hardware for the Volvo-Starbucks project. But motorists still want to be sure they can easily charge up when wandering away from home and on long trips, in particular.
President Joe Biden plans to devote billions of dollars from last year’s infrastructure bill to fund a network projected to have 500,000 charging stations in place by 2030. But private ventures, like the one Volvo and Starbucks are launching, are expected to play a major role in meeting that target.
The Swedish automaker has a vested interest in setting up a charging network. It is just launching its second all-electric model, the C40 Recharge, and also has a number of plug-in hybrids in its line-up. It intends to sell nothing but battery-electric vehicles by 2030 and will phase out models running solely on gasoline even sooner.
It isn’t alone, however, a broad range of manufacturers and brands, from mainstream General Motors to exclusive Bentley, plan to go 100% electric, and others are planning to follow.
Pushing for more EVs
In the U.S., Biden has set a goal of having plug-based models account for as much as 50% of sales by decade’s end. Some analysts believe the market could get there even sooner — with the establishment of a viable charging network key to that goal.
Some parts of the country are already well served, particularly along the Pacific Coast. But finding a public charger in many other parts of the country can be difficult. Much of the route that the Volvo-Starbucks project will cover is today a “charging desert,” Michael Kobori, Chief Sustainability Officer at Starbucks, said in an interview with Fast Company.
The initial network will place four high-speed chargers at each stop, averaging about 100 miles in-between. The partners did not disclose the power capabilities of the chargers but indicated that the new Volvo C40 Recharge will be able to boost its battery from a 20% to 90% state-of-charge in as little as 40 minutes.
Starbucks is clearly hoping to pick up business while EV owners plug in and wait. And it’s not the only one taking this approach. Bank of America began setting up chargers at a number of its branches in 2019 and WalMart has been adding chargers at stores in 34 states.