By Fleet Management Weekly Staff
June 26, 2024
A lack of charging infrastructure is one of the biggest problems facing fleets in the race to fleet electrification. While fleets may have the capital and the drive to begin transitioning to EVs, the last piece of the puzzle is often finding a reliable way of charging their increasingly growing number of electric vehicles. Many companies work with fleets to build single-use charging stations or locate places to charge on the go, but few address the issue of powering fleets at scale.
This infrastructure problem is much more complex than it appears at first glance. Unlike a gas station that can be built anywhere, charging hubs must be built in specific locations to handle the extra strain on the electrical grid. They must also be close to the customers who need them, mainly private and transportation fleets.
A ‘Big Picture’ Solution
EV Realty is tackling the problem head-on by focusing not just on individual fleets but also on the bigger picture of electrification. The company develops, deploys, and owns EV charging hubs capable of simultaneously powering multiple commercial fleet operations. By determining the locations where charging infrastructure is both feasible and most needed, EV Realty delivers access to low-cost, reliable power without overwhelming the grid.
These Powered Properties™ are multi-fleet, multi-use charging hubs capable of servicing many local fleets simultaneously. EV Realty handles every aspect of building, managing, and maintaining these hubs, allowing fleets to focus on charging their EVs and getting back on the road. Because multiple fleets can use each location, no one fleet has to foot the entire bill. It’s a cost-effective, wise investment into the future of electrification and fleet sustainability.
Choosing the Land
Before EV Realty can build one of its charging hubs, it must find the right place to build it. “EV Realty acquires land, usually between two and five acres per site,” says Jim Ludovico, Chief Customer Officer of EV Realty. “We’re not simply buying a piece of dirt–we’re doing the work behind the scenes to ensure that we have found an intersection between location, fleet vehicle need and ensuring there is available power.”
This is easier said than done, as the electric grid is already under much strain. The electric grid wasn’t designed as a transportation fuel source, which can make it difficult and costly to update the system to fit this newfound purpose. Increasing power on the circuit level or building new substations could also take years, delaying electrification even further. Instead of forcing the entire system to change, EV Realty finds the ideal areas within the grid where charging hubs can be built today.
“EV Realty was founded by individuals with extensive solar and wind energy development experience,” says Ludovico. “Their expertise is analyzing the grid because when you’re putting infrastructure to add electricity, it’s not just about where the wind blows, or the sun shines, it’s where is there capacity on the grid to accept the energy and find the intersection of those two things.
“We’re using this expertise to identify places on the grid with excess megawatt capacity. And we’ve built internal systems to identify and then target land on that circuit.”
Proximity to the Grid and the Fleet
Finding the right places to build is about more than just identifying the ideal location for the grid. EV Realty’s charging hubs also must be close enough to the fleets that need them.
“You have to be in the correct market,” says Ludovico. “If the fleet operator is in San Bernardino, you can’t build a charging hub 80 miles away and believe that will work for their operations. So, it’s the convergence of finding power that is close, ideally next door, but relatively close to those operating fleets.”
While EV Realty is currently focused on California, the company has its sights set on expanding its portfolio of Powered Properties™ to other key medium and heavy-duty truck markets. The company recently announced a $200 million joint venture with GreenPoint Partners that will allow them to purchase and develop more sites.
“Our goal is to develop a system of hubs throughout California and then expand from there so that companies transacting with us can operationalize around our hub structure,” says Ludovico.
A Multi-Use, Multi-Fleet Facility
While EV Realty does work with fleets interested in building their own private charging facility, many of its charging hubs are built to service multiple fleets at once. It also services both overnight and opportunity charging, giving fleets the flexibility they need to meet their charging goals.
The Best Use of the Real Estate
“For us, having a multi-use case, multi-fleet facility is the best use of the real estate,” says Ludovico. “We can accommodate both the overnight charge, where you would reserve a stall, and power an opportunity charge during the day. Today, a class eight tractor can charge from 20% to 80% state of charge in under an hour. So trucks can come in and plug in, and then they can be up within an hour and on their routes again.”
EV Realty has built a team with expertise in every area related to charging infrastructure, including people with a background in fleets, utilities, and real estate. Together, they bring the knowledge of the inner workings of California utilities, corporate fleets, and development practices and policies to attack the problem from every angle. The variety of expertise allows them to identify which fleets can benefit from investing in a charging hub and navigate the nitty gritty of development.
“The challenge for many fleets is a lack of background in energy development,” says Ludovico. “They don’t have resources aimed at dealing with utilities, dealing with local planning boards, nor experience with charging infrastructure. We resolve those challenges for the fleets that are in operational proximity to our hubs. That way, fleets can begin the EV Transition with minimal changes operationally.”
Building a Hub Onsite
Fleets looking to develop their own facilities into charging hubs must consider several factors, the first of which is whether the grid supports their location with enough energy to scale.
“Unfortunately, today the answer in most cases is no,” says Ludovico. “If fleets are lucky enough that the grid currently has excess capacity to support charging at their location, they must act quickly because electricity is aligned on a first-come, first-serve basis. If they don’t reserve the power with the utility, their next-door neighbor could electrify, and then they’re back to square one.”
Many fleets trying to build charging stations in their facilities need to plan for the long term. They focus on pilot programs that solve for only a handful of vehicles, ignoring whether their facility can electrify at scale.
What are the Long-Term Implications?
“Cherry picking two routes for two trucks and installing the necessary chargers is still a complex process,” says Ludovico. “But what will 
happen when you need another 80 chargers as you scale over time? “Fleet operators should understand their long-term needs before they spend time and money on solving charging for a few trucks. I’m all for a pilot, but you might want to consider a pilot in a location with sufficient electrical capacity to solve the problem at scale.”
The second factor is whether the facility has enough space for chargers and vehicles. Whether it’s a transportation or private fleet for a local heating and air conditioning company, most facilities aren’t set up to install chargers. “In some cases, you see trucks parked nose to tail,” says Ludovico. “It doesn’t work from a space perspective.”
The last factor to consider is whether the fleet is willing to spend the money on financing the entire project. Because most fleets are OpEx-based, only some can make the capital expenditures required for such long-term infrastructure. “For larger fleets this could be millions of dollars in the ground.” says Ludovico. “Then there is the question of ownership of the facility. If you’re leasing, do you want to give the landlord all of that infrastructure investment if you move facilities?”
‘Finish Building a Plane While Flying’
The electrification industry is relatively new, which means that most fleets aren’t well-versed in the world of charging infrastructure. Much of what EV Realty does with the fleets it partners with is educate them on the industry and its rapidly advancing future.
“We’re finishing the airplane while it’s flying,” says Ludovico. “Regulations have begun to take effect. So, many of the municipalities and the critical fleets in California have compliance targets for zero-emission vehicles today. Regulatory is a big factor in many fleet decisions.” Sustainability and economics are two other major drivers of electrification, as fleets seek to reduce emissions and cut costs. ESG concerns are driving many commercial fleets to try to meet certain sustainability goals without eliminating profits.
“Sustainability of transportation is a critical goal for all of us. Transportation emissions are a leading cause of air quality challenges within logistic corridors.” says Ludovico. “We see varying rates of transition to zero emission vehicles by different organizations. There are some that are pace setters and finding ways to integrate this technology today, and some are more compliance driven. For example, many last mile fleets are looking at this from an economic standpoint and are moving at a faster clip than other commercial fleets.”
Empowering Fleets for an Electric Future
EV Realty isn’t just in the business of building charging stations. With their breadth of expertise, they’re revolutionizing the EV charging 
infrastructure and helping to meet the evolving needs of commercial fleets. By identifying the locations with the perfect blend of power capacity and proximity to fleets, EV Realty is turning electrification into reality for countless fleets across California.
Electrification will undoubtedly require a long-term overhaul of the energy grid to meet the rising needs of electric vehicles. But EV Realty offers an immediate solution to fleets that want to electrify today. Their Powered Properties™ offer an affordable charging solution by servicing multiple fleets at once, delivering a community solution to an industry-wide problem. With each new facility built, EV Realty is moving closer to a more sustainable future.
