Electrify America and IKEA on Thursday announced plans to install electric vehicle charging stations for delivery drivers and the general public at more than 25 of the Swedish retail giant\u2019s U.S. locations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The effort will quadruple the number of chargers in U.S. IKEA stores and help the company meet its goal of zero-emission home deliveries by 2025, Ikea and Electrify America said in a joint press release.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The two companies plan to install more than 200 individual DC fast chargers \u2013 a mix of 150kW and 350kW units \u2013 in 18 states for Ikea customers. The full list includes Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The first stations are expected to open later this year, with all expected to be open by the end of 2023.<\/p>\r\n
In addition to these chargers, IKEA contracted with Electrify Commercial, the fleet business unit of Electrify America, to install more than 225 individual chargers. The build doesn\u2019t specify, but it\u2019s likely to be Level 2 AC chargers.<\/p>\r\n
This is the first time that Electrify America, which was created and originally funded as part of Volkswagen\u2019s diesel emissions cheat settlement, will simultaneously install chargers for public use and for the fleet.<\/p>\r\n
Electrify America saw rapid growth from 2020 to 2021 and recently announced investments from Siemens. It\u2019s the first time an outside company has invested in Electrify America, which is seeking additional investment beyond the $2 billion committed by VW to fund its initial network plan, for further expansion.<\/p>\r\n
A study by Umlaut found Electrify America leading in user experience, although it did not take hardware downtime into account. While this may be an area that needs more attention, Electrify America is trying to reduce its carbon footprint by purchasing solar power. Earlier this year, it announced a deal for enough solar power to more than offset power from its grid.<\/p>\r\n