CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With spring break right around the corner and the end of the school year not far behind, many families will be hitting the road, some in electric vehicles.
However, taking a road trip in an EV might be a concern due to the lack of EV charging stations in some areas.
Whatever your destination, a road trip usually entails a pit stop to fuel up or charge up.
Arcady Sosinov, CEO of Freewire, told WCNC Charlotte that we are about two to three years away from seeing charging infrastructure anywhere you drive. Until then, he advised drivers to keep mapping out routes and planning ahead before major road trips.
"Most vehicles today can get 250 to 350 miles of range on one full charge," Sosinov said. "So when you're getting low on range, you want to open up Google and search for ultra-fast charging and you can get locations around you."
Sosinov said that many drivers are concerned about the number of charging stations, and rightfully so.
He added, "But the fact is that most charging today happens at home, which I think is an advantage, versus fueling your combustion vehicle. The fact that you can wake up in the morning and have your car be fully charged. That's a real value proposition to those consumers. So 80% of charging actually does happen at home, but you need public ultra-fast charging for the other 20%."
In addition to knowing the range your EV gets, Sosinov suggested mapping your routes before driving and consider charging times.
He said an ultra-fast charger is ideal.
"That'll take 15 to 20 minutes. You can get a bite, you can get a coffee, you can use the facilities, and then you can get back in your car and you're fully charged," Sosinov said. "Then when you get to your hotel, your destination, just consider whether it has a level two charger, which is a slow charger, but overnight that slow charger can get you back to full and you can keep driving. So it is really convenient. But it does take a little bit of planning."
Freewire has eight fast charging stations in the Charlotte metro, from Ballantyne to Concord.
"It's one of the largest deployments of fast charging in and around Charlotte. And specifically, because North Carolina is, is really moving quickly and adoption of electric vehicles," Sosinov explained.
North Carolina announced a commitment in 2022 to accelerate economic development in the zero-emissions vehicle sector and advance North Carolina's transition to a clean energy economy by 2030.
Jane Monreal: Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.