General Motors, Pilot, EVgo collaborate on Nationwide Fast Charge Network

By Edward A. Sanchez — July 15, 2022

Charging infrastructure is a frequent topic here on The Watt Car, and for good reason. You could have the most amazing EV technology on the planet, but if you don’t have a practical means of charging, it’s essentially useless. This “chicken and the egg” conundrum is one currently facing EVs. Tesla was the first mover in building out a nationwide (and even global) fast-charging network for its vehicles, but others are in hot pursuit. This week, General Motors, in collaboration with Pilot and EVgo, plans to take a major step in removing charging anxiety from buyers’ minds when considering purchasing an EV.

The planned network will consist of 2,000 stalls coast to coast, branded “Pilot Flying-J” and Ultium Charge 360. Although GM is behind this initiative, the stalls will be able to charge any vehicle with a CCS1 port, or compatible adapter. The partners pledge that all of the charging stations will be capable of offering a peak charging rate of 350 kW. Although the charging points will be open to all EVs, GM owners will enjoy additional perks such as the ability to reserve a charging station, charging discounts, and Plug and Charge capability.

Preemptively addressing a persistent pain point with EV charging, since Pilot and Flying J locations are staffed 24/7, it is the intent for on-site personnel to be trained and empowered to take care of basic troubleshooting such as payment validation and charge initiation. Obviously, if the issue is more complex or technical, it could require a repair or visit by a technician or specialist.

GM and EVgo are separately working on an initiative that plans on placing charging points at 50-mile intervals across the United States, ultimately enabling 100,000 charging points across the U.S. and Canada that will be accessible through its Ultium Charge 360 platform. The two companies are also specifically targeting the build-out of 3,250 charging points in major metropolitan areas by 2025.

Importantly, and a topic that has been brought up multiple times here on our blog and podcast, is that some of the charging points will be pull-through, easing and facilitating the charging process for vehicles towing a trailer.

Creating a truly pervasive, reliable, and easy to use coast-to-coast charging network that can accommodate all types of vehicles (including trucks and SUVs towing) is hard work. Tesla was ahead of the curve in the buildout of its Supercharger network, and remains solidly in the leadership position in terms of locations, number of charging points, and ease of use. But there’s still plenty of room to grow, and definitely room for improvement in terms of accommodating edge case scenarios such as towing.

In our interview with Rustam Kocher and Oleg Logvinov of CharIN, the prospect for MCS chargers for three-quarter/one-ton and larger trucks was discussed as a possibility. Locations such as Pilot would be a natural for these, as they already predominantly serve the commercial truck market. We’re eager to see how this initiative progresses.

(Image courtesy GM)

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