By 2030, there could be 26 million electric cars in the U.S., which means we’ll need more than 10 times as many EV chargers. Starbucks, with its 15,000 locations across the country, thinks that it could help fill part of the gap.
In a pilot this year, the company is partnering with Volvo and Chargepoint to install EV chargers in its parking lots along a 1,350-mile route from Denver to Seattle, with stops available roughly every 100 miles. “It’s one of those charging deserts, so to speak,” says Michael Kobori, chief sustainability officer at Starbucks. “There aren’t too many charging stations available there.”
Charging an electric car is still a fundamentally different experience from pumping gas; EV owners often plug in at home for day-to-day use, but on a longer road trip, chargers aren’t always easy to find. With current charging tech, the process also takes longer than traditional fueling, and sitting at a gas station for 30 minutes or more isn’t necessarily appealing.
Source: Fast Company
Omni Talk is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail. 