Dive Brief:
- Meijer and electric vehicle charging company EVgo are expanding their partnership, with plans to deploy up to 480 fast-charging stalls in as many as 60 of the retailer’s locations, EVgo announced Tuesday.
- EVgo expects to open up to 30 new stations at Meijer stores by the end of 2026 and 30 more stations by the end of 2027. The new public fast-charging infrastructure will be in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, according to the press release.
- The expanded partnership builds on Meijer’s sustainability efforts, including energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives.
Dive Insight:
The growing tie-up with EVgo will play a major role in supporting the region’s growing population of EV drivers as well as encouraging more drivers to choose electric vehicles, the announcement said. A new study by MIT researchers found that installing EV charging stations boosts annual spending at nearby businesses.
Meijer runs more than 500 locations across six states and currently offers electric vehicle charging options at more than 35% of its locations. EVgo currently has 24 public fast-charging stalls at six Meijer stores in Michigan and Ohio.
For the upcoming charging stations, EVgo is working with Meijer on site selection across a mix of locations with and without the Meijer Express gas stations, communications firm ICR Technology wrote in an email.
“EV adoption is growing in the Midwest, and by adding hundreds of new fast charging stalls with the region’s leading supercenter, EVgo’s partnership with Meijer shows our companies’ shared commitment to delivering an elevated charging experience for EV drivers living or traveling throughout the Midwest,” EVgo President Dennis Kish said in the announcement.
Frustrations with charging infrastructure such as unreliability, erratic pricing and an insufficient number of charging locations are major obstacles to increasing EV sales in the U.S., according to research published this summer by a Harvard Business School fellow.
Along with the EV charging push, Meijer is working to reduce its carbon footprint with energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives. Meijer announced in September it surpassed its goal of halving its carbon emissions one year ahead of schedule.
EVgo said its expanded work with Meijer is part of its broader work to provide a nationwide charging network. In October, EVgo received a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.05 billion of debt financing from the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office.
Brett Dworski contributed reporting.
