Groundbreaking Ceremony Celebrating Fast Charging Corridor for Electric Vehicles
A corridor of electric vehicle (EV) fast charging stations that will span from Monterey to Lake Tahoe broke ground this week with a ribbon cutting ceremony in El Dorado Hills.
DRIVETHEARC aims to increase the ease of long-distance EV travel in Northern California while studying EV use and driving patterns through a smartphone app. Installation of the 50 fast chargers is expected to be completed by March 2017, while the project to collect and analyze data will be completed in September 2020.
The project is a joint demonstration effort under an agreement between the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), which is Japan's largest public R&D management organization, and the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development. Project partners include Nissan Motor Co., Nissan North America, Kanematsu Corporation and EVgo.
At a Nov. 14 ribbon cutting ceremony at the DRIVETHEARC station at Raley’s, representatives from project partners and state agencies talked about the corridor’s potential impact in advancing EV adoption in California.
“California is committed to zero-emission vehicles and the infrastructure that enables them. Transitioning to cars with no tailpipe pollution will help California meet our ambitions climate goals and our federal clean air standards,” said California Energy Commissioner Janea A. Scott. “The Energy Commission is pleased to celebrate DRIVETHEARC which demonstrates how multi-stakeholder partnerships can come together - combining expertise, leveraging resources, and creating a shared commitment - to accelerate deployment of the infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of California’s growing electric vehicle fleet.”
NEDO is funding the corridor as part of its mission to improve energy conservation and promote new energy technologies. EVgo is installing fast charging stations at more than 20 locations.
Kanematsu has been collaborating with Nissan and EVgo on the smartphone app, which is designed for the DRIVETHEARC stations and the EVgo stations. The app will provide users with key real-time convenience features such as navigation to charging stations within cruising range and will help reduce charge waiting times with charger vacancy information. Captured driving stats will be available to users, and project partners will analyze and measure charger use patterns to better inform future EV charging projects globally.
Project partners believe that the real-time information for drivers will make EV charging more accessible and expand EV travel distances in Northern California.
