Mercedes-Benz and Starbucks to Open EV Charging Network Along West Coast
Soon, customers on the West Coast will be able to get a different sort of jolt from their local Starbucks. Mercedes-Benz has partnered with the coffee chain in an initiative that will install public DC fast-charging stations at 100 Starbucks locations along Interstate 5, which connects Canada to Mexico through Washington, Oregon and California.
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You’ve Heard This One Before
Volvo and Starbucks recently announced a similar venture, albeit on a smaller scale and travel vector. That effort seeks to install chargers at 15 coffee shops between Seattle and Denver, averaging roughly 100 miles between charging stops along a 1,350-mile route. The Mercedes effort will result in a denser charging environment, cramming 100 charging destinations into approximately the same distance, roughly 1,400 miles.
And that’s just the beginning. Mercedes and Starbucks say they “share an ambition to identify additional opportunities,” with the goal to expand to other critical travel corridors, key urban areas and charging deserts — areas with a shortage of convenient charging options.
The chargers themselves will be 400-kilowatt units, able to pump electrons into EV batteries as fast as the vehicle can accept them. The rate at which an EV can replenish its battery depends equally on the charging station and the vehicle’s onboard charger, as well as ambient temperature and other factors. At a 400-kW plug, some EVs can charge from 10% to 80% in less than 30 minutes, and many can add more than 150 miles of range in just 15 minutes.
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Eggs in Many Baskets
Mercedes and Starbucks will supply the charging stations with 100% clean energy. Through its Ambition 2039 initiative, Mercedes is aiming to reach carbon neutrality across its entire vehicle fleet and supply chain by that year. This partnership is only the latest of the company’s many efforts to expand public fast-charging access. Along with five other automakers, Mercedes founded the Ionna network; now including Toyota, Ionna seeks to eventually install more than 30,000 chargers across the U.S. And as the sole automaker in a separate partnership with ChargePoint, Mercedes-Benz expects to have more than 2,500 chargers at some 400 “Charging Hubs” by 2027.
From Starbucks’ perspective, that’s 2,750 miles and six states down, countless miles and the whole country east of Denver to go. Who’s next?
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