As EVs proliferate, some gas stations are undergoing costly overhauls to add EV charging stations.
In most cases, they don’t scrap traditional liquid fuel pumps. But some locations, including RS Automotive in Tacoma Park, Maryland, and a Shell gas station in Fulham, England, have undergone sweeping transformations.
Location, cost, power requirements, and switching times are multiple considerations in a gas station’s decision to retrofit all or part of its existing infrastructure to allow EV charging.
“It can be complex and challenging to figure out how to do this on active sites,” said Neha Palmer, CEO of TeraWatt Infrastructure, which is developing electric vehicles for fleet operations in California, Arizona and New Mexico. Network of charging centers. “How do you sequence construction when you have vehicles that might want to refuel there?”
Here’s what gas station owners need to know about the EV charging trend and its future.
EV fast charging model
Locations such as office buildings, hospitals, and hotels often offer slower charging options because people are often there for hours at a time. Gas stations, however, are investing in Level 3 chargers, which are more powerful and can typically fully charge a car in 20 to 30 minutes.
Seth Cutler, chief operating officer of EV Connect, said that while slower charging stations are often free for motorists, this is often not the case for fast charging stations because of ongoing operations such as electricity rates in commercial settings. Fees, along with additional fees charged by utilities, help companies build networks of charging stations.
Major oil company franchisees and auto dealers are on board
For Big Oil, adding EV chargers is as much a defense as an offense.
The number of gas stations has decreased dramatically over the past three decades and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Shubhendra Anand, Vice President, Research and Strategy, Market Research Future. In fact, according to consultancy BCG, at least a quarter of gas stations around the world are at risk of closing by 2035 without major business model changes.
The Biden administration’s stated goal is to have 500,000 electric vehicle chargers across the country by 2030, with EVs accounting for at least 50% of new car sales. According to current government estimates, there are more than 3 million electric vehicles and more than 130,000 public chargers across the country.
The European oil major is one of the world’s energy industry leaders driven by electric vehicle charging.
shell As well as the Fulham base, the company has dedicated mobile centers for EV charging in China and the Netherlands. The company plans to have more than 70,000 public electric vehicle charging stations around the world by 2025 and 200,000 by 2030, according to an emailed statement from Barbara Stoyko, senior vice president of mobility at Shell Americas.
blood pressure Sujay Sharma, chief executive of BP’s US electric vehicle charging business, said that it is also seeing demand for hybrid fueling stations and electric vehicle charging stations for mixed use. Their existing amenities, including restrooms, food and beverages,” Sharma said in an email.
Franchise car dealerships are also increasingly on board, driven by automakers General Motors and ford.
By the end of last year, 65% of Ford dealers had opted in to the EV certification program (just under 2,000, according to figures shared by Ford), as the program began to put auto dealers at the heart of the EV transition effect.
Franchise owners will spend an estimated $5.5 billion on OEM-branded EV infrastructure, ranging from $100,000 to more than $1 million per store, the American Automobile Dealers Association said in a May release. USD varies.
Upfront costs can be eye-popping, and incentives help
Adding EV charging is not an alternative decision that owners should make hastily. In fact, the average payback period could be seven to 10 years, according to estimates by Yair Nechmad, co-founder and CEO of Nayax, a global business enablement and payments platform that provides services to gas stations.
Michael Hughes, chief revenue officer at ChargePoint Holdings, said the hardware and software for fast charging can cost between $50,000 for a single charger and $500,000 for multiple fast chargers and dispensers . stations and facilities. Meanwhile, the cost of infrastructure, including the cost of breaking ground, running electricity, permits and contractors, is typically about double that, he said.
That makes us recommend all infrastructure modifications up front, even if gas stations are only going to offer a few chargers in the first place, said Rohan Puri, chief executive of Stable Auto Corporation. Own and operate them. His advice: “Put in the electricity you think you’ll need in 10 years.”
Federal, state, and utility companies offer a number of incentives for commercial businesses to purchase and install fast chargers. These include the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration NEVI formula program, which provides generous funding for states to strategically deploy electric vehicle charging stations.
Gas station owners can Search Information They may be eligible for incentive programs.
Location is Key Factor, Gas Station Franchising in Focus
Even with incentives, there can be barriers to entry, of which location is a major factor. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 80 percent of EV charging takes place at home, making increased EV charging less attractive for inner-city gas stations, Hughes said. Local gas stations also typically don’t have facilities for people to entertain while charging.
Real estate can also be daunting. A traditional gas station might have two islands with four liquid fuel pumps each; the same utilization would require about 40 charging stations, Hughes said.
In contrast, gas stations along major highways between heavy-traffic destinations may be ideal candidates for charging centers. These locations tend to have multiple amenities, Hughes said, giving people a chance to grab a coffee, grab a bite to eat, stretch their legs or walk their dog while they recharge.
Convenience store-turned-gas station operators such as Sheetz, Wawa, Royal Farms and Buc-ee’s are also starting to add chargers at some locations, said Albert Gore, executive director of the Association for Zero Emissions Transportation, a federal coalition that advocates for electric vehicles. , a former executive at Tesla and SolarCity. It couldn’t be “a place where you run in and buy a Snickers bar,” Gore said.
While gas stations may have a first-mover advantage, some owners, such as Blake Smith, founder of gas station and convenience store operator SQRL Holdings, are taking it slow. His company operates more than 150 convenience store gas stations and offers charging at select locations in Florida. In contrast, the company has yet to install any electric vehicle charging stations in Arkansas, which has more than 60 stations.
“I’ll never get my investment back,” he said, adding that full adoption of electric charging could be decades away. “We’re not going to change the direction that petrol cars are off the road and only electric cars will be used.”
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