Startup Heroes Rescue EV Charging Network In US

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The dictator-adjacent Commander-in-Chief who occupies the Oval Office is tearing through the nation’s federally sponsored network of EV charging stations, wasting billions in taxpayer dollars in the process. So much for improving government efficiency. Now startups and legacy automotive stakeholders are rushing to fill the breach, which will make the waste of federal funds all the more meaningless. Who voted for this guy, anyways?

The ElectricFish EV Charging Station Solution: Look Ma, 90% Savings On Grid Upgrades

Among the EV charging startups to cross the CleanTechnica radar is the California firm ElectricFish. The company launched in 2019 with a focus on accelerating EV adoption and fleet electrification in grid-constrained locations where new electrical infrastructure is impractical, if not cost-prohibitive.

ElectricFish’s chief contribution is “350Squared,” a modular, plug-and-play charging station that can deploy existing 200-amp electrical infrastructure to pull double duty as a community microgrid and energy storage facility, providing backup power in case of emergency.

ElectricFish opened its new factory in California in June, and it has been on the move since then. In the latest news, earlier today the company announced the official launch of the new 350Squared power bank. Featuring 400 kilowatt-hours of storage and ultra-fast EV charging, the system requires no trenching or other heavy-duty work normally required to install a new EV charging station.

ElectricFish asserts that the battery-integrated 350Squared power bank eliminates up to 90% of the cost of grid upgrades needed for conventional EV fast charging stations, while delivering a charge 133% faster than typical fast chargers.

The system is also containerized, enabling clients to pick up and go as their needs change.

Smart EV Charging To Help Ease Grid Strain

Today’s EV charging station technology is more nimble and responsive than earlier iterations, which should help ease, if not eliminate, excess strain on the grid in the coming years when millions of EVs start hitting the US roads and charging up at the same time.

ElectricFish has taken extra care with that angle, tailoring its software to integrate with grid-balancing virtual power plant technology (see more virtual power plant background here).

“The addition of AI forecasting brings a combination of demand response and predictive analytics that optimizes energy use, ensuring grid stability and lowering operational costs,” ElectricFish explains.

“Additionally, integrating real-time energy market APIs enhances flexibility, allowing site hosts to generate revenue through dynamic energy management,” they add.

The Electrification Movement’s Secret Weapon: Fleet Vehicles

The market for heavy-duty Class 8 electric trucks is still in the early stages, but ElectricFish is among the stakeholders seeing rich opportunities in the electrification of medium-duty fleets.

“One of the biggest challenges facing the sector right now is bringing down the upfront costs to compete with traditional gas-powered vehicles while also maximizing efficiency for fleet operators,” explains ElectricFish COO Vince Wong.

With that in mind, 350Squared features two charging ports and a bi-directional meter.

ElectricFish’s focus on the electric fleet market makes the White House EV charging policy look even dumber and dumberer, considering that the US government owns one of the biggest fleets in the world. Suspending the $5 billion NEVI fast charging program in midstream is just one idiotic, wasteful gesture.

Tearing out or disabling EV charging stations at federal facilities is another big waste of money right off the bat. By one estimate, taxpayers have spent about $900 million to install charging stations at federal facilities, and now all those dollars are down the drain. The White House order does exempt “mission critical” chargers, but it remains to be seen how many, if any, fall into that silo.

There are knock-on impacts, too. The federal government already owns thousands of EVs. Now that they’ve lost the convenience of on-site charging, so what comes next? Either they get dumped into the used car market at a loss, or drivers have to waste time and money scouting for alternative chargers.

Perhaps the efficiency gurus over there at Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s “DOGE” can figure out how to convert a loss into a gain. After all, Musk has been trying to gaslight the US public for weeks with the same grift, though he’s fooling less and less people as the weeks wear on.

The Dumbest EV Charging Station Policy Of Them All

In the meantime, ElectricFish is not the only EV charging stakeholder to help ensure that vehicle electrification movement continues apace, Trump or no Trump.

One particularly interesting bit of news popped up earlier this month, when the state of Pennsylvania celebrated its successful deployment of NEVI funds at three locations before the program went on the chopping block. Two of the new locations are supported by Sheetz and the IONNA consortium, which in turn are also collaborating on dozens more charging locations. The third location is supported by Pilot/Flying J, which is collaborating with GM and EVgo on hundreds of additional locations.

The outlook for rapid growth in the home EV charging market is also improving, with one key area being solutions for onsite charging at multi-family residential properties. Drivers who live in multi-family buildings have been largely shut out of the convenience of home charging, which is where the vast majority of EV drivers prefer to charge up.

Increasing access to home charging at multi-family properties opens up a whole new field of opportunity for EV sales, which brings us right back around to Tesla.

Some analysts anticipate that Tesla can recover from its recent woes to rise again, but as of this writing that seems like a terminal case of hopium. On March 12, Business Insider was among those citing the opinion of JPMorgan analysts, who were struggling to recall “anything analogous in the history of the automotive industry, in which a brand has lost so much value so quickly.”

Ouch!

“JPMorgan analysts cut their price target on Tesla by about 41% from $230.58 to $135, lowering guidance on vehicle deliveries for the first quarter of 2025 to about 355,000 — an 8% year-over-year decrease from the first quarter of 2024,” BI continued.

To be clear, that translates into a buying opportunity for some quick-witted investors. After all, BI also noted that Tesla still holds the position as the “most valuable car company in the world.”

Toyota, for one, may have something to say about that. As noted by BI, Toyota is the second-most valuable automaker next to Tesla, with a market cap of $292 billion.

Until recently, Toyota has not been particularly eager to challenge Tesla for a share of the 100% battery-powered EV market, but the gloves are off now.  Just this week, Toyota introduced three new BEVs to Europe, where Tesla sales are falling off a cliff.

Toyota also teased a new electric micro-car concept, a market segment that Tesla has ignored.

Keep an eye on that automaker for signs of continued growth in EV sales in the US. Last summer Toyota joined other US stakeholders to invest in the new IONNA EV charging network, and rumor has it that the company’s new C-HR+ electric compact crossover SUV will be coming to the US as well.

Photo: New EV charging stations are sprouting up all over the US, even as the White House disables federally supported stations and sends more taxpayer dollars down the drain (courtesy of ElectricFish).