Taking a cross-country roadtrip in your electric vehicle is a little more feasible thanks to Electrify America. Its first coast to coast EV fast charging route is now complete, and the company plans to have another route finished by September. The routes provide high-powered chargers to all EV brands, and on average, the stations are spaced about 70 miles apart, so EV owners can travel beyond a single charge without being stranded.
The first route stretches over 2,700 miles from Washington DC to Los Angeles. It follows Interstates 15 and 70 and passes through 11 states. The second route will connect Jacksonville and San Diego.
Anthony Lambkin, director of operations at Electrify America, in a press release, said:
Electrify America’s primary goal has always been to advance electric vehicle adoption in the U.S., and that starts by instilling feelings of confidence and freedom in consumers when it comes to EV ownership.
The completion of our first cross-country route is a significant step towards that goal – by making long-distance travel in an EV a reality, we hope to encourage more consumers to make the switch to electric.
The route is more symbolic than highly useful. How many drivers want to take a round-trip cross-country drive along a single prescribed route? While most of the Electrify America chargers offer speeds up to 350 kilowatts, most of the compatible EVs available today have considerably slower max charging rate and a driving range not ideal for an easy cross-country road trip.
Electrify America already has routes along the East and West coasts, and with these new routes it will be even easier for EV owners to travel farther. This is especially important for non-Tesla owners. Tesla’s Supercharger network already covers much of the country and has some trip-planning tools.
