Energy
Monday, July 18th, 2022 10:00 am EDT
Some recent posts by EVgo show that it is not only working with GM and Pilot/Flying J truck stops to expand, but is also continuing to expand urban and suburban charging opportunities for EV owners. Last week, EVgo got its Trekkie on when it opened up a new station on Vulcan Street in Encinitas, California. They even brought Star Trek-themed cookies to the event!
Trekkies get ready! Spock, Surak, T’Pol, Soval, Sarek, and T’Pau are now OPEN, powering at warp speed toward a full battery at our newest fast charging station, located on Vulcan Street in Encinitas, CA. Bring your best Vulcan salute for the grand opening today at 2:30pm PT! pic.twitter.com/vHTN255zdN
— EVgo Fast Charging Network (@evgonetwork) July 8, 2022
Looking at popular charging apps like Google Maps and Plugshare, it seems that the Star Trek theme didn’t end with the grand opening. Like all EV charging stations run by EVgo, the stations have a name. In this case, the company named the stations after Vulcan characters on Star Trek, like Spock. Other stations include Surak, named for the “Vulcan father of logic,” T’pol (the first Vulcan to work on a ship from Earth), and Soval, an ambassador who you hate at the beginning of the Enterprise series, but gain respect for as it goes along.
Can you tell I’m a Star Trek fan? Apparently I’m not the only one!
The station in Encinitas has a total of six stations, each with one CCS and one CHAdeMO plug. Like other urban charging stations, max power is 50 kW. That might not be warp seven speeds, but when you’re staying near Vulcan (St), you don’t need to get that impressive annular warp drive up to speeds that impress the primitive people of 2150s Earth, right?
EVgo also recently opened up a station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
We have a new charging station in Pittsburgh, PA! Visit our newest EVgo fast chargers, Maxine, Mithika and Atherton at McCandless Crossing to power up your EV while you fill up your cart. This station is one of hundreds to be built in collaboration with @GM. pic.twitter.com/nQduqqt96e
— EVgo Fast Charging Network (@evgonetwork) July 9, 2022
Like the other station in Encinitas, California, this station also has names, but nothing Trek-inspired. Stations at McCandless Crossing, near the US-19 bypass route and Cumberland Rd, are named Maxine, Mithika, and Atherton. Atherton is the fastest of the three, with 350 kilowatts of power for two CCS plugs. The other two stations are CCS/CHAdeMO stalls with up to 100 kW of power for either plug. So, this is a mix of urban and highway charging.
It’s also part of an ongoing partnership with GM to install more EV charging stations. These stations aren’t GM or Ultium-branded like the upcoming Pilot/Flying J stations are going to be, but they do give GM’s upcoming Ultium cars the power they need for a quick charge.
Why This Matters
We obviously don’t report on every single EV charging station that gets installed in the US now. There was a time that every new charger was big news, especially if it was the first in a city or a state, but there are so many stations going in that there has to be something special to make it worth our time and yours.
Honestly? The Vulcan theme made this a fun story to cover, but you already knew that.
One thing that I think is great about the emergence of EVs is that it comes in an age when being a nerd has gone mainstream. When I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, everyone watched Star Trek and Star Wars (even if the latter was only three VHS tapes back then), but nobody wanted to admit it. Today, the nerds have triumphed and own the world.
But hey, jocks, it’s OK. We won’t beat you up for coming out of the Trek closet!
Featured image by EVgo.
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