West Coast coffee lovers will soon get a jolt of a different kind, as Starbucks is partnering with Mercedes-Benz to build electric vehicle charging stations outside its stores.
The Seattle-based java giant and Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging will install hundreds of fast chargers at 100 Starbucks near Interstate 5, according to Electrek. The highway runs south from the Canadian border outside of Vancouver through Washington, Oregon, and California and into Mexico near Tijuana.
There will be four to 10 DC chargers of up to 400 kilowatts at each coffee shop, The Los Angeles Times reported. They will accommodate all EVs but won't come online until 2025. The chargers will be fitted for NACS and CCS connections, as well as 800-volt batteries.
"This sort of advancement is exactly what we need in the industry," Cool the Earth co-founder and executive director Carleen Cullen told the outlet. "Putting chargers where people shop and eat — it's the perfect solution."
MBHPC is investing $1 billion in its network, which opened in November with a station at its Sandy Springs, Georgia, headquarters. There are now 12 locations in Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Texas. They are all powered by 100% clean energy.
The network over the next 12 to 18 months will expand to almost half of U.S. states, Electrek reported. MN8 Energy, ChargePoint, and Alpitronic are also involved in the project.
EVs are touted for their ability to help lower pollution in our warming world, but their widespread adoption has been slowed by concerns such as range anxiety, which refers to the distances they can travel before their batteries are exhausted. Without ubiquitous charging stations, EV drivers won't have the peace of mind that drivers of gas-guzzlers do.
Charging stations have also been beset by functionality problems, overcrowding, and vandalism (as well as malicious parking jobs).
With the help of these two brands, though, soon there will be so many chargers that such issues aren't meaningful. It's all about working together to create a sustainable future.
"Starbucks is pretty ideal for this," one commenter said. "Just the right amount of time to get a drink, maybe a snack and hit the bathroom, all in a clean place that most likely you already visit regularly if you're west coast. Compared to a sit-down restaurant (takes too long) or gas station (nobody wants to spend 15-20 minutes there)."
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