The US Startup Rolling out Urban Curbside EV Charging - Voltpost CEO, Jeff Prosserman

US startup Voltpost retrofits lampposts into modular electric vehicle (EV) charging platforms. It's developing and deploying EV charging projects in major US metropolitan areas, including New York, Chicago, and Detroit.

"Our solution reduces the cost, timing, and footprint of charger installation while providing communities with a scalable, equitable solution," Voltpost's CEO, Jeff Prosserman, tells Auto Futures.

"The demand for public chargers is particularly acute in urban areas, where air pollution makes the need for EVs more pressing. EV chargers tend to be located in high-income areas, and are not always easy to access. When they are accessible, they might not even work. Lower income communities face a multitude of unfair challenges due to a myriad of past policy and investment decisions," he explains.

With many EV companies struggling financially, New York-based Voltpost offers a 'Hardware-as-a-Service' model to deliver value to public and private partners. 

"The significant upfront costs and time required for typical EV charging station installations has led to many EV supply equipment technologies failing to scale in major markets. Unlike competitors, Voltpost can install a charger in one hour for a fraction of the cost with no construction, trenching, or extensive permitting."

In addition, modularity supports future product capabilities that could include 5G, WiFi, grid services and multi-modal charging.  

"Voltpost aims to spur EV adoption and empower people across all communities by providing EV charging both curbside and in parking lots. Voltpost addresses the issue of charging deserts by seeking to deploy lamppost chargers in low-income, underserved and disadvantaged neighborhoods, including communities with a low ratio of private parking spaces to households or a high ratio of multi-unit dwellings to single-family homes," says Prosserman.

Weather And Vandal Proof Chargers

Voltpost works with project partners to conduct a site analysis. Once suitable sites are established, it utilises the existing conduit in lampposts to perform a grid interconnection.

"The interconnection is made easier by relying on existing connections to provide the foundation for a service upgrade to the target lampposts, which is a standard practice. Following this process, the interchangeable Voltpost modules encapsulate the lamppost, enabling swift installation and replacement if needed," says Prosserman.

The company's goal is not only to develop the easiest to deploy and easiest to operate public charger in the market, but also the safest.

"Voltpost was designed with vandalism in mind as well, as this a major concern for municipalities. Our charger is built with weatherproof anodized aluminum and can be washed with a light solvent, such as acetone, to completely remove graffiti. The walls are thick, and will resist impact and abuse."

"The design includes responsive LED lights that indicate charging status, a utility-certified meter to track electricity consumption, cloud connectivity to mobile phones and a pedestrian-friendly cable management system which is ADA compliant. Our modular system also means that we can replace a unit in hours, instead of weeks or months, in the instance of extreme vandalism and maintain our uptime," he adds.

The company plans to deploy over 100 chargers across New York, Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey and California in 2024. Long-term, it plans to be in every city in America and says it wants to make EV charging "as ubiquitous as lampposts".

Making Charging Access As Common As Lampposts

With EV ownership slowing in the US, Prosserman believes convenience is key to their adoption.

"Converting 2% of the 26 million lampposts in America into the Voltpost charging platform would meet the Biden administration’s 500,000 charger target. The key to encouraging widespread adoption is in ensuring charging is conveniently accessible across all communities and affordable. This aligns with Voltpost's mission to decarbonize mobility by democratizing charging access. We are working to bring EV charging to everyday locations, seamlessly integrating into people's routines," he says.

Finally, we asked Prosserman for his thoughts on what EV charging will be like in the future.

"By 2040, the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) market is estimated to grow from $7 billion to $100 billion, at a 15% compound annual growth rate. One of the main segments of the EVSE sector is charge point operators (CPOs), which are estimated to account for the majority of the market’s value, projecting as much as 65% of the EVSE market by 2040, at an estimated $65 billion in revenue," he says.

"On top of that, the number of charge points in the US is poised to grow from about 4 million today to an estimated 35 million in 2030. Voltpost is positioned to capture significant market share over the next few years with our differentiated charging platform."

"By 2030, our vision is to  be a transformative force in the climate movement by making charging access as common as lampposts. Our platform enables a sustainable and equitable future for people and our planet," concludes Prosserman.