Volvo and Starbucks have previously announced their intention to install as many as 60 DC Fast chargers at certain stores along a certain route. Now, the two companies have returned with an update, as their project has begun installing the first DC Fast chargers in selected stores in Utah and Colorado.
The new collaboration that will allow EV users to have a safe, familiar, and comfortable place to charger their vehicles and themselves, as Volvo describes Starbucks stores, involves ChargePoint, which is the network that installed and offers support for the DC chargers that will be placed at specific locations along a 1,350-mile route that spans from the Colorado front range and the Starbucks headquarters in Seattle.
While it may seem a bit odd, to say the least, the route is described as scenic, and it passes near six natural forests, along some of the U.S.' most iconic spots. The idea is that someone could go from the Snoqualmie Pass in Washington, see the Snake River in Idaho, admire the Arches National Park in Utah.
Up to 15 Starbucks stores on this route will have DC Fast chargers installed through this program, and since the two companies have written about "up to 60 chargers," one could assume that each location might get as much as four fast chargers, but do not count on that happening in precisely that manner.
Instead, busier locations might get three or four chargers, while less frequented ones might get just one or two, depending on how much use the first charger "see."
The two companies designed the route to have at least one fast charger at roughly 100 miles along the route, which would be "well within the range of nearly every EV." In other words, this is not just for Volvo owners. The deal might bring more customers to those Starbucks locations between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest, which is something that no business would refuse.
According to Volvo, a C40 Recharge will be able to get from a 20 to a 90 percent charge in about 40 minutes from a ChargePoint DC fast charger. If you consider the time you spend waiting in line, ordering, and consuming your average Starbucks beverage, it sounds about right, and you might still find time for a bathroom break while you are at it.
While it may seem a bit odd, to say the least, the route is described as scenic, and it passes near six natural forests, along some of the U.S.' most iconic spots. The idea is that someone could go from the Snoqualmie Pass in Washington, see the Snake River in Idaho, admire the Arches National Park in Utah.
Up to 15 Starbucks stores on this route will have DC Fast chargers installed through this program, and since the two companies have written about "up to 60 chargers," one could assume that each location might get as much as four fast chargers, but do not count on that happening in precisely that manner.
Instead, busier locations might get three or four chargers, while less frequented ones might get just one or two, depending on how much use the first charger "see."
The two companies designed the route to have at least one fast charger at roughly 100 miles along the route, which would be "well within the range of nearly every EV." In other words, this is not just for Volvo owners. The deal might bring more customers to those Starbucks locations between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest, which is something that no business would refuse.
According to Volvo, a C40 Recharge will be able to get from a 20 to a 90 percent charge in about 40 minutes from a ChargePoint DC fast charger. If you consider the time you spend waiting in line, ordering, and consuming your average Starbucks beverage, it sounds about right, and you might still find time for a bathroom break while you are at it.