The Walgreens store chain is accelerating its on-site electric vehicle charging profile by ten-fold.
EV infrastructure firm Volta Inc. announced that it will expand its collaboration with Walgreens to set a target for installing 1,000 direct current (DC) fast charging stalls at 500 stores in the U.S.
The deal expands on Volta’s three-year work with the retailer. Walgreens currently has stations at 49 stores.
"Walgreens is committed to providing customers with new and different digital experiences alongside convenient solutions that help them lead healthier lives," said Luke Kigel, vice president of Walgreens integrated media and leader of Walgreens Advertising Group. "Volta's electric chargers allow Walgreens to seamlessly bring customers unique advertising and convenience experiences with eye-catching screens and quick, convenient charging to match their behavior, all while helping to build healthier communities through reducing vehicle emissions."
Walgreens Boots Alliance—the retailer conglomerate with 13,000 combined pharmacy and retail locations in North and Latin America—has set a goal of reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent from 2019 levels by 2030.
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"As we expand our DC Fast charging presence across the country, Walgreens is an ideal match for faster forms of Volta charging given the average time a Walgreens shopper typically spends in-store," said Scott Mercer, Founder and CEO of Volta. "Volta's intelligent charging network is built around understanding and anticipating consumer behavior. The next phase of our work with Walgreens will provide people with a quick, convenient, and meaningful charge that is tailored to their shopping experience while bringing us another step closer to a clean energy future."
San Francisco-based Volta also recently announced it had signed partnership deals with the global sporting goods chain Decathlon, starting in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and the movie theatre company Cineplex Group in Germany.
ResearchandMarkets has forecast that the EV charging stations market will grow double-digit percentages annually and reach $103 billion in revenue by 2028.
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(Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can reached at [email protected]).
