Range anxiety is the number one concern people are faced with when buying an EV. Thankfully, there are companies committed to challenging that.
Running out of range while driving is rarely ever a concern – unless of course, you drive an electric vehicle (EV). Range anxiety, or the fear that an EV will leave its occupants stranded by not having enough battery charge to reach its destination, is the number one worry people have when buying an electric vehicle.
This anxiety stems from the fact that public infrastructure isn’t quite there to support efficient EV charging. There aren’t enough charging stations across towns and highways, nor is there a way to successfully access them without being inconvenienced or hassled. A study by the University of California, Davis reveals that 2 out of 10 EV drivers switch back to gasoline cars because of this dilemma.
Luckily, governments and large corporations are taking initiative to change this. Some of the companies making a notable commitment to providing increased access to EV charging stations and help us transition more seamlessly to sustainable transportation are Tesla, AeonCharge, and Subway. Here’s everything you can expect from each of the three companies in upcoming time:
- Tesla
On February 15, 2023, The Biden administration announced it had partnered with Tesla and other companies — including General Motors and Hertz — as part of a 2-year project that aims to use “private funds to complement federal dollars and put the nation’s EV charging goals even closer within reach.”
Tesla plans to open a portion of its proprietary U.S. Supercharger and Destination Charger network to all EVs, officially committing to 7,500 chargers available by the end of 2024.
According to the press brief, this will include at least 3,500 new and existing Superchargers along highways to expand freedom of travel for all EVs, and Level 2 Destination Charging stations at locations like hotels and restaurants in urban and rural locations.
All EV drivers will be able to access these stations using the Tesla app or website. This commitment comes as a result of federal initiatives designed to bring American transportation on track to be “cleaner, safer, more affordable, and more reliable than ever before.”
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $7.5 billion in EV charging, $10 billion in clean transportation, and over $7 billion in EV battery components, critical minerals, and materials.
- AeonCharge
As a connoisseur of EVs, entrepreneur Dwi Sutandar shares that he drove one from West Lafayette, Indiana to Seattle, Washington, just to see if there is enough public supporting infrastructure to charge his vehicle along the journey. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and it prompted him to do something about it.
“We almost got stranded in Oregon because all of the chargers in that specific place were broken,” he says. “We didn’t know that because the mobile app didn’t relay any of that information to us. When we got there, we only had a few miles left. It was a really scary time for us.”
Sutandar is the founder of AeonCharge, a revolutionary software that bridges the gap between EV charging networks and service providers, allowing drivers to access any charger in the U.S. using their own preferred interface.
Currently, eighty percent of EV drivers use more than 6 different mobile apps to find public charging stations in the US. Switching between multiple apps is time consuming and stressful. Sutandar’s software is one-of-a-kind, and paves the way for other advancements in technology that will make charging possibilities endless.
AeonCharge connects EV drivers with access to activate and pay for any EV charging session. The company originally started as a B2C model. But after gaining immense popularity and interest from investors, Sutandar decided to expand and change his business model to B2B.
As a result, the company serves six different categories of business including charging aggregators, route planning, fleet operations, fleet management solutions, parking applications, and automakers.
- Subway
Grabbing a quick bite to eat while topping up your EVs battery is a reality that many don’t get to experience. Not only are charging stations sparse, they are often inconveniently located.
Thankfully, Subway has entered a partnership with a company called GenZ EV Solutions, and plans to create Subway Oasis charging parks, with multiple ports, picnic tables, Wi-Fi, restrooms, green space, and playgrounds.
The press release states Subway wants to provide “a more seamless experience for EV drivers,” and the initiative is designed to offer added convenience for on-the-go guests, while doing good for the planet and generating incremental revenue for franchisees.
As part of a multi-year plan to rollout the Subway Oasis, smaller-format, fast EV charging stations will be piloted at select, new or newly remodeled restaurants across the U.S., starting in 2023. Guests will also benefit from dedicated Subway promotions, available only while utilizing an EV charging station.
Although the transition from fuel cars to EVs is still largely underway, we must applaud the companies doing their part in making the transition all the more seamless. Tesla, AeonCharge, and Subway are leading a new revolution, one where sustainability is at the forefront.
