Companies Improve Electric Vehicle Infrastructure as Fleets Expand

(Credit: EVgo)

Transitioning commercial fleets to cleaner options has companies quickly adding electric vehicles but also increasing their focus on infrastructure improvements to make those transitions successful.

IKEA has pledged to add delivery electric fleet and public charging stations, Delta is supplying EVgo with 1,000 fast chargers, and Rivian has developed a fleet management system that Amazon is already using in its electric delivery vehicles. Earlier this month, the US Transportation and Energy departments said all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had submitted plans for a national electric vehicle charging infrastructure system.

The IKEA plan will quadruple the company’s number of electric vehicle chargers. The company is adding more than 225 chargers for its delivery fleet, and the move is part of a target of zero-emissions home deliveries by 2025. IKEA is also adding public charging stations to 25 US locations and there will be more than 200 of what the company says are “ultra-fast” chargers, with speeds of 150 kilowatts to 350 kilowatts.

EVgo says it has the nation’s largest public fast charging network, with more than 850 charging locations across 60 metropolitan areas. The agreement with Delta will add charging systems that also have speeds up to 350 KW. In July 2022, EVgo revealed plans to add 2,000 charging stalls at Pilot and Flying J locations across the US. That deal is in collaboration with General Motors and Pilot.

The Rivian platform is designed to centralize electric delivery vehicle management and increase fleet efficiency. Rivian says the system is based on a subscription model, and all Amazon electric delivery vehicles have it installed. Rivian is helping Amazon obtain 100,000 electric delivery vehicles by 2030.

A similar electric fleet management system by Synop, which is designed to make commercial fleets more feasible with energy management tools, has raised more than $10 million in seed money.

Charging infrastructure is seen as the biggest challenge as more commercial fleets go electric. Research and Markets says there will be more than 3.1 million electric vehicles in commercial fleets worldwide by 2030.

The infrastructure plans by state governments are part of the infrastructure law passed last year. The plans are required as part of $5 billion in funding over the next five years to increase the nation’s charging infrastructure. Those plans are expected to be reviewed and approved by the end of September.

Overall, the infrastructure bill allocates $7.5 billion to charging infrastructure and aims for 500,000 charging stations installed across the US. Electric vehicle manufacturing is also a significant part of the energy programs in the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes more than $20 billion in incentives to build and update manufacturing facilities for clean vehicles.