The American government recognized that a key element in expanding electromobility is the establishment of public charging points. In 2022 it started to fund the construction of fast charging stations ($7.5 billion for 500,000 charging points).[3] Tesla began opening its superchargers to third-party brands in 2023.[4] In 2022 Tesla also made its previously proprietary charging plug available for standardization under the name North American Charging Standard (NACS).[5]
After opening in 2012, the Tesla Superchargers developed a dominant position in fast charging. In addition to the number of charging points and availability,[note 3] the ease of activation also played a role.[note 4] In mid-2023, many manufacturers began licensing Tesla's technology and access to Tesla's Supercharger network - at which point the ratio of NACS to CCS charging points in North America's fast charging landscape was already 60 to 40 percent.[6] The Volkswagen Group, as the main shareholder of Electrify America, also announced that its vehicles will have access to superchargers beginning in 2025.[7][note 5]
In this market environment, Mercedes, BMW, GM, Stellantis, as well as Honda, Hyundai and Kia announced in July 2023 that they would combine their plans in order to build an independent network of HPC fast charging stations in North America. In February 2024, the IONNA LLC company began operations of the network under the name IONNA. The goal is to set up 30,000 HPC charging points.[8][9][1] For comparison, there were 12,000 charging points in operation at Tesla and 4,000 at Electrify America at that time.
The first new charging location is expected to open at the end of 2024.[10] Headquarters will be moved from Torrance, California to Durham, North Carolina.[11][12] $10 million will be invested into the new site along with the creation of over 200 jobs; over the next ten years $725 million of investment is expected.[13]
In July 2024, Toyota announced it would join the IONNA joint venture.[14]
As of December 2024 it was planned to build 50 stations by the end of 2026, each with 10 charge points at Sheetz locations, and to get to 1000 stations by 2028.[16] As of February 2025, a total of 100 locations had been secured, to be built with a total of 1,000 charging points by the end of 2025.[17]
Charging stations
Sheetz truck stop in Springfield/PA (2020)
In October 2024, IONNA broke ground on its first 'Rechargery' charging location, in Apex, North Carolina. The location is planned to include a lounge, bathrooms, and food and beverage service. 10 covered DC fast charging stalls will be capable of 400kW and 800 volt output with both CCS1 and NACS connectors. [15][18] The first location has been equipped with Alpitronic 400. The Hypercharger HYC400 has a liquid-cooled cable for 500 A [and a 600 A boost] allowing up to 1000 V (as known from Ionity charging hubs). Each charger has two cables, either CCS or NACS.[19][20][21]
In December 2024, four stations were opened, with four more planned for the first quarter of 2025.[19][22][23][24] Also in December 2024, an arrangement was announced with Sheetz, a chain of 24/7 convenience stores. Among the 750 locations in the northwest of the USA, about 50 truck stops will be converted into 'Rechargeries' by the end of 2026. Of the four openings in December 2024, three of them had already been at Sheetz locations.[22][25]
↑ The company register in Oregon shows a foundation in December 2005. The shell corporation was probably bought between July and February. The 9th of February points to the allowance for operation as a charging network.
↑ Mercedes, BMW and Hyundai are also founding members of Ionity
↑ availability over 99% and defunct charging points were shown correctly in the app
↑ specifically the charging cards were failing often
↑ Electrify America charging sites are usually located on mall areas in the suburbs
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
