‍2022: A Year in Review

As 2022 draws to a close, the EVCS team looks back on a year filled with so much progress and success across our industry, including a sharp rise in EV sales, a record number of new EV makes and models, advances in battery technology, and groundbreaking legislation on both state and national levels that promote the promise of electric mobility. We celebrate those achievements that have made sustainable ever yet attainable while simultaneously building toward future goals. For EVCS in particular, 2022 proved to be a watershed year in both regards.

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A High-Voltage Highway‍

In May, with Oregon governor Kate Brown by his side, EVCS co-founder Ian Vishnevsky unveiled 44 upgraded EV chargers making up that state’s leg of the West Coast Electric Highway. The revamped DC fast chargers, primarily located along I-5, I-84 and US-101, replaced the old CHAdeMO-only system in favor of new CHAdeMO and CCS1 combo connectors while also adding 110V outlets for e-bikes and scooters.

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Get Green, Go Green

In early July, we completed a $68.8 million capital raise aimed at accelerating our fast-charging network across the West Coast, including expansion into 35 new cities while increasing charger density in existing ones. The financing was comprised of an $18.8 million Series A equity round from Spring Lane Capital, Abdo Partners and Copulous Group along with an additional $50 million debt facility from Spring Lane.

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Powered by People

Also this summer, we hired former Amazon marketing exec and digital media guru Kirk Johnson as Chief Growth Officer, who has since spearheaded the development of all our customer-facing touchpoints. His hiring was then followed by a spate of others, including a Head of Construction, VP of Sales, VP of Partnerships, VP of Software Engineering, and Head of Growth Marketing.

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An Amped-Up Media Campaign

Just this year alone, we’ve earned over 100 media placements across an array of platforms and outlets, including Business Insider, Tech Crunch, CarBuzz, dot.LA, Automotive News and ABC 7. Their content has praised EVCS for raising the standards of reliability in EV charging, increasing the pace of transitioning to electric, and rolling out progressive new payment models that simplify EV ownership.

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A Powerhouse Partner

Last year, we announced a contract to purchase over 500 Tritium DCFCs as we worked to expand West Coast EV infrastructure. This year, we’ve stepped it up, ordering an additional 300 of their 50kW RTM fast chargers, which brings their total contribution to our network to over 800. Tritium is a Nasdaq-listed company that has won numerous awards for product innovation, design and engineering.

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Subscribe and Save

In October, we revealed key changes to our industry-disrupting subscription platform – namely the launch of a cost-savings calculator and two new unlimited charging tiers (Off-Peak Pro and Anytime Pro) that open access to previously excluded commercial classes such as rideshare and delivery drivers. Analysis shows our subscriptions plans could save the average EV driver almost $700 a year.

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Bigger is Better

We now have a record number of installations across the West Coast as we pioneer new ways to democratize EV infrastructure. A total of 661 chargers, including 236 DCFCs, can be found across 150+ different locations – and growing – from supermarkets and gyms to public lots and parking garages. We also installed our first 100kW fast charger this year at the beautiful Kenwood Inn in Sonoma.

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Looking Ahead to ‘23

While we’ve made great strides toward a clean-energy future, we know there is much more to do. Our 2023 goals include improving charger density across California, Oregon and Washington; continued renovation of the WCEH; the creation of new digital processes and product experiences that reduce barriers to EV ownership; and expanded marketing efforts that espouse the virtues of going electric.

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Many thanks to our valuable readership and we look forward to connecting with you again in the new year! Together, we're making a difference.

Happy holidays from EVCS.

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GREEN Act Delivers for EV Enthusiasts

The Biden Administration and fellow Democrats in Congress continue to lead the green energy charge, which is creating resounding benefits for the EV industry as a whole. The latest is the aptly named Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now, or GREEN, Act (you gotta love those clever acronyms!) sponsored by Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA-5). Earlier this month, the House Ways and Means Committee introduced the bill as a way to advance an agenda centered on achieving greater levels of sustainability, and we were pleased to see several provisions included that would further encourage EV adoption.

2020: A Year in Review

Two thousand twenty has been a year of undeniable adversity, but also one of remarkable achievement. A year of firsts and hopefully a few lasts. A time of toil and tribulation, but also of triumph. For genuine success is partly defined by our ability to hurdle those implacable obstacles that make the result so noteworthy in the first place. Now, as the EVCS team looks back on this unusual year, we take stock of our unique achievements that made 2020 one for the books.

Electrification Progress in the Age of COVID

It’s pretty clear that vaccine or no, COVID will be here for a while, and with it the new normal of face masks, social distancing, telecommuting and (consequently) less road travel. While some might view this with trepidation, we see it as an opportunity. Since the earliest weeks of the pandemic, major metro areas like Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago – those with large reductions in automobile traffic – immediately began seeing improvements in air quality, according to articles in the New York Times and Washington Post. More recent, an NPR story noted ozone pollution has decreased as much as 15% in many of these places. It seems an unintended consequence of the lockdown has been to accelerate the transition to responsible mobility by demonstrating its positive effects on the environment.

How a Biden Administration Helps EVCS

For EV enthusiasts generally and EVCS specifically, the election results are cause for great optimism. Joe Biden has shown himself to be a true friend to the electric mobility industry, so we thought we’d outline a few ways a Biden presidency will likely benefit our company, our mission and our customers.

California Mandates Progress on Electric Mobility

Last week, governor Gavin Newsom made major headlines when he announced through executive order that California will prohibit the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks starting in 2035 – just 15 years away. Additional regulations will call for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to be carbon-neutral by 2045. For those of us who have been decrying the slow transition from pollutant-emitting internal combustion engines to more efficient ones powered by zero-emission lithium-ion batteries, it was welcomed news.