Phillips 66 signed a letter of intent with FreeWire Technologies to expand its electric fuel charging capabilities, using its existing US retail network sites to meet growing demand for electric vehicles, the company said June 1.
“With EV adoption growing, Phillips 66 is working with FreeWire to bring consumers electric fueling stations that meet their expectations for high-speed, on-the-go charging,” said Pam McGinnis, Phillips 66’s vice president of Global Marketing, in a statement.
Phillips 66 will leverage its network of approximately 7,000 US branded retail fuel sites with FreeWire’s battery-enabled chargers, which also use existing components of an EV to charging purposes.
“We like battery-enabled chargers for many reasons,” Lou Burke, Manager of Branded Sales at Phillips 66, said. “They reduce operational costs by charging up the battery when power is cheaper but still provide capacity to give customers a rapid charge. These types of chargers require minimal electrical infrastructure investment, significantly reducing permitting and time to value.”
Data from the US. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center shows there are over 46,000 public US EV charging stations, with a total of over 115,000 individual charging ports.
US demand for plug-in vehicles declined slightly in April to 71,500 vehicles from March’s record of 72,000 vehicles, according to Platts Analytics.
However, demand is expected to grow as policy support for EVs grow. This includes California’s April 12 Advanced Clean Cars II Regulation proposal to reach a goal of 35% EV sales in 2035, which if met, would reduce on-road internal combustion vehicles in the state by 5 million vehicles, according Platts Analytics’ estimates.
Source: Spglobal.com
