Electrify America announced a new design vision for some of its future charging stations to exceed electric vehicle customer expectations as they transition to electric mobility. In addition to this new, customer-focused design evolution, the company will be introducing its next generation charger with functional design updates to improve the hands-on charging experience for the customer.
Electrify America has sharpened the focus on customer needs and reimagined the EV charging experience by introducing ‘The Charging Station of the Future, Today’ which can add design and comfort elements such as solar canopies and awnings, customer waiting areas and other customer-focused services at select locations.
The company plans to showcase this transition with installation in 2022 and 2023 in select new flagship charging facilities in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, San Diego and Beverly Hills, California and in New York within Manhattan and Brooklyn. Currently the company has flagship charging stations located in Baker, California 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 gas-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.
A Customer-Centric Charging Experience
With some of the new showcase stations featuring up to 20 ultra-fast DC chargers, 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
- Charging stations located at select shopping locations may offer valet charging and curbside delivery options
Solar Awnings
Electrify America is currently adding solar awnings to 400-500 individual chargers at 100 charging stations across the country. In addition to providing shelter from the sun and weather elements, the energy captured by the solar awnings will be utilized to help power the station’s operations.
The company has already installed solar canopies at its flagship charging stations in Baker and Santa Clara, CA. The solar energy from these solar canopies is also routed to the onsite battery energy storage systems onsite, capturing energy to help charge electric vehicles.
Next-Generation Charger
Electrify America will also begin the rollout of a redesigned electric vehicle charger with functional and design features to simplify the customer experience. The ultra-fast chargers with up to 150 and 350 kilowatts of charging power will keep Electrify America’s iconic green glow that customers have come to recognize and embrace, and continue to stand at an easily recognizable at 8 feet tall. The next-generation charger will also feature:
- An all-new design that refines the look and reduces the footprint of the charger
- A recessed and brighter HMI (human-machine interface) screen to help reduce the glare from sunlight making it easier for customers to view the operational instructions and charging progress
- A single connector cable with an all-new cable management system to ease the effort to plug in the cable no matter where the charging port resides on a customer’s EV
- A reduced footprint of both the charger and power cabinets will allow installation of more equipment in space constrained, urban locations.
Deploying More Than 150 Onsite Battery Energy Systems
The company’s new charging station design vision is focused on marrying the latest technology innovations with a true customer-focused experience. New station design is integrating energy and cost-saving technology to help improve efficiency and make the charging experience more simple, fast and comfortable than ever before. By expanding the deployment of onsite battery energy storage systems (BESS) to more than 150 stations, the company continues to build on previous investments to help manage the energy load to the grid and capture excess solar energy where possible.
“The momentum moving us closer to an electric transportation system is accelerating with consumers finding more and more choices of EVs from virtually every manufacturer,” Palazzo said. “Our customer research shows the need to transition to a more inviting charging experience that accommodates the human experience with waiting areas and other conveniences.”
