Meijer, a major grocery store chain in the US Northeast that is based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is teaming up with EV fast charging giant EVgo to bring EV fast chargers to a parking lot near you (assuming you live in a Meijer region).

EVgo is a true leader in the EV charging arena. As it summarizes, it is “the nation’s largest public fast charging network for electric vehicles (EVs) and only platform powered by 100% renewable electricity.” That’s some clean motoring.

Unfortunately, the news release does not indicate how many charging stations will be put it. So, seemingly, it’s an open-ended partnership rather than a full-scale plan at this point. Though, notably, there are more than 250 Meijer supercenters in place in these 6 states: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Wisconsin. That’s a lot of potential for new EV charging stations.

In fact, even as the largest public fast charging network, EVgo has charging stations at only 800 locations. Getting chargers added at 200 Meijer supercenters would mean a 25% increase in the network’s spread, and those are pretty much the ideal locations for EV fast chargers. I live without home or workplace charging, and we’re just a one-car family of four. Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, our ability to chill out at coffee shops, restaurants, stores, and malls and charge at the same time has been basically obliterated. The result is that we have been doing almost all of our charging at a Tesla Supercharger while shopping at a grocery store right there in front of it. The nice thing is there’s no need to extend our stay — the car charges up as much as it needs while the grocery shopping is being done. The groceries get into the trunk and we’re off. Providing that easy opportunity for charging to millions of more people at Meijer grocery stores would be a big boon to those markets and could speed up EV adoption significantly.

It turns out that Meijer isn’t new to the EV world. “Since 2010, Meijer has been offering EV charging facilities at select stores and on its corporate campus,” the company writes. But it’s ready and eager to do much more, and that will come through this partnership with EVgo. “As part of its broader sustainability goals, Meijer recognizes the important role that EVs play in contributing to the nation’s move toward an increasingly low carbon fleet of consumer cars and trucks.”

Cathy Zoi, CEO of EVgo, aptly highlights that bringing EVgo charging stations to Meijer parking lots will also bring more customers to Meijer parking lots. “An EVgo station attracts new and repeat customers looking to fast charge their vehicles up to 80% in 15 to 30 minutes. This new partnership between EVgo and Meijer is a huge win for drivers and our two companies.”

“Meijer is excited to partner with EVgo to bring EV charging stations to more of the communities we serve,” says Erik Petrovskis, Meijer Director of Environmental Compliance and Sustainability. “Enabling the adoption of electric vehicles is a vital part of decarbonizing passenger vehicle transportation, and Meijer can play a role in enabling that transition.” Meijer has been privately owned and family operated since it was founded in 1934.

Naturally, as with other stations, EVgo will manage the maintenance and operation of its stations — Meijer doesn’t have to do anything. The stations will range from 100 kW to 350 kW of power.

Other EVgo News

Photo by Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

Some other recent news from EVgo is that the Nissan Energy Perks by EVgo program has surpassed 6,000 members. The program has been running since late 2019 (ah, the pre-pandemic years). In certain markets, new Nissan LEAF and LEAF PLUS owners get $250 of charging credit at EVgo stations.

Through this partnership, Nissan and EVgo got an additional 200 DC fast charging stations installed. “This network expansion includes the development of new locations spanning Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, New Brunswick, Sacramento, Seattle, Philadelphia, and along the I-95 corridor on the East Coast.”

Photo courtesy of EVgo

Previous to this milestone, in February, EVgo got new contracts for 14 new fast charging stations in Pennsylvania and 30 in New Jersey. EVgo also announced last month that it was adding 400+ Tesla connectors at its fast charging stations.

Earlier this month, EVgo published a full fleet electrification guide to try to help further speed up the transition to 100% electric vehicles.