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Starbucks and Volvo Cars are teaming to pilot the installation of electric vehicle charging stations at the coffee chain’s stores in five states in the U.S. The two companies will engage in the program to survey the usage and potential scalability of EV chargers at SB outlets across the country.
The partnership between Starbucks and Volvo has been announced on Tuesday, March 15. Under the pilot program, Volvo will be installing around 60 Volvo ChargePoint DC fast chargers at 15 Starbucks branches along the driving route from Colorado to the coffee chain’s headquarters in Seattle. The distance has been calculated to be around a 1,350-mile route.
As per CNBC, the Swedish luxury vehicle manufacturer and cafe company will closely observe the stations and evaluate the impact on EV owners. In this way, they can ascertain if expanding the program is a good idea or not.
It was said that the lack of charging stations is one of the major obstacles to EV adoption. In an effort to solve this, many automakers and charging companies are joining forces to put up chargers in strategic locations in the U.S. as well as assess the usage of the drivers.
Starbucks and Volvo’s plan is to install the EV chargers in locations every 100 miles which is the usual battery range of most EVs. The fast chargers are scheduled to be built this summer and completed before this year ends.
All Volvo Car owners can access the charging stations at Starbucks outlets for free or at preferential rates. It should be noted that owners must have a ChargePoint account to use the charger. For the coffee shop, this program is part of its efforts to move to a more sustainable future.
“We have a bold long-term sustainability vision and ambitious goals for 2030,” Kevin Johnson, Starbucks’ president and chief executive officer, said in a press release. “Starbucks partners around the world are passionate about protecting our planet and are at the very center of driving the innovation that enables us to give more than we take from the planet.”
