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EV charging equipment specialist Wallbox opened its new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Arlington, Texas, today where we were fortunate enough to be one of the first to take a tour. This new 130,000-square-foot factory is Wallbox’s first manufacturing footprint in North America, and will produce all of its US EV chargers. Wallbox also demonstrated one of the chargers that will be built in Texas – the new Hypernova 400 kW DC fast charger, which can add up to 100 miles of range in just five minutes.

Wallbox ($WBX) is a global charging specialist founded in 2015 that offers equipment and energy management solutions for residential and public use in over 100 countries. It currently employs over 1,000 people across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including its headquarters in Barcelona.

On the residential front, Wallbox currently offers its Quasar 2 charger that offers bi-directional capabilities, enabling owners to turn their EV into an energy storage system (ESS) that can be used as backup power during an outage or peak energy demand.

Following a strong Q2 this year, Wallbox has begun to expand its presence in the US market, partnering with American automakers like Fisker to offer EV customers the opportunity to purchase its best-selling Pulsar Plus 240V home charger, which will also include home installation services. Part of this strategy included Wallbox’s recent acquisition of installation strategist COIL Inc.

Wallbox’s latest product is a super-fast, 400 kW DC fast charger called the Hypernova, designed for highway corridors. As Wallbox’s lineup of charging and energy management solutions continues to grow, the company has set up a manufacturing footprint on US soil to make its products more easily obtainable for North American consumers.

This morning, we got a chance to tour the new factory and see the Hypernova EV charger in action.

Wallbox plans to build 1 million chargers in Texas by 2030

It was a busy morning in Arlington, Texas, today as Wallbox opened its doors to showcase its $70 million manufacturing product that is expected to produce 250,000 chargers in the remaining months of this year. Several media were in attendance along with company founder and CEO Enric Asunción, general manager of Wallbox North America Douglas Alfaro, and Arlington mayor Jim Ross.

The new facility joins Wallbox’s North American headquarters in Mountain View, California, and warehouses in Burlington, North Carolina, and Bloomington, California. Arlington also marks Wallbox’s first manufacturing facility in the US and fourth worldwide. Asunción spoke during the event:

Today only 3% of the chargers required globally for the next decade have been installed, showing the magnitude of the need for innovative and reliable charging solutions. Bringing Wallbox’s manufacturing capabilities to the US significantly bolsters our ability to meet US needs, deliver to public funding programs and drive the energy transition.

As part of the visit to the Texas factory, the company showcased the aforementioned Hypernova DC fast charger (seen above) in action. This 400 kW charger has a centralized power system that can feed one or multiple dispenser units and was specifically designed to allow for a wide variety of configurations that can be more easily upgraded or expanded over time.

If two EVs are connected to one pile, the Hypernova can deliver 200 kW to each. It currently comes equipped with a 10-inch display but were told that will eventually be upgraded to 15-inches. The charger itself as well as content on the display can be branded to whatever the customer would like. The Hypernova is also equipped with Plug and Charge capabilities.

Given its demonstrated ability to garner up to 100 miles of range in five minutes, its creators believe the Hypernova could prove to be an asset for EV drivers making long-haul trips across the United States. Douglas Alfaro elaborated:

Hypernova was specifically designed to bolster public charging infrastructure in the US. It aims to solve the current deficit in public charging along key US highway corridors and simplify long-distance traveling for EV drivers. We’re already seeing vehicles with higher power charging capabilities hit the road that would be looking to benefit from faster charging from an ultra fast charger like Hypernova than what’s being installed today.

The company is already building its Pulsar Plus EV chargers in Arlington and expects to add Hypernova production in 2023. Wallbox stated it plans to double its local workforce over the next twelve months, bringing approximately 250 jobs to the Arlington area by 2025, and about 700 by 2030.

2030 looks to be a benchmark year for the charging solutions company as it also intends to be producing over 1 million charging units in Texas by that time while also aiming to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire global footprint.

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Electrek FSGP 2025: New teams, new cars, same solar spirit

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Electrek FSGP 2025: New teams, new cars, same solar spirit

The sun has set on a frantic day of scrutineering at this year’s Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP), as teams scramble to qualify for a spot on the starting line tomorrow morning. Electrek FSGP 2025 is shaping up to be one of the event’s most attended ever, thanks to a strong showing of first-time and returning schools. But that also means new and unproven vehicles on the track.

Today, I walked through a couple of bays and talked with a few of the teams able to spare a minute; almost all of them were debuting completely new cars that were years in the making. Building a solar car is no easy feat. It’s not just the engineering and technical know-how that’s often a hurdle for them; it’s more often monetary. However, one of the things that makes this event so special is the camaraderie and collaboration that happen behind the scenes.

Northwestern University is back with a completely new car this season, its eighth since the team’s original inception in 1997 during the GM Sunrayce days. Its motor controller, which is responsible for managing the flow of power from the batteries to the motor, was given to them by the Stanford team. Stanford had extras and could spare one for Northwestern, which needed a replacement. It doesn’t stop there. Two members of the Northwestern team (Shannon and Fiona) told me four other teams helped them with a serious tire replacement around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, saving them from missing important parts of scrutineering.

This is also an exciting year for the West Virginia team, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary as a solar car team, making them one of the oldest teams on the track. With age comes wisdom though: WV is competing again this year with its single-occupant vehicle, Sunseeker. The team ran into issues after last year’s American Solar Challenge (ASC) cross-country event when the vehicle’s control arm, an important part of the suspension that connects the wheels to the chassis, broke. They tell me this year they’re back with a completely redesigned control arm made of both aluminum and steel. Thank you, Hayley, John, and Izzy, for taking the time to talk.

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We’re also seeing new builds this year from the University of Florida, the University of Puerto Rico, NC State, and UC Irvine. Believe it or not, the latter team has never competed in an American Solar Challenge/Formula Sun Grand Prix. This is their first year. UC Irvine doesn’t expect to be on the starting line tomorrow but hopes to be on the track soon after.

On the other hand, we have tried-and-proven cars like my personal favorite, Polytechnique Montréal’s Esteban, which undergoes minor improvements each year. I talked a little bit with this team today, and they told me the car’s motor was dropped, disassembled, and cleaned in preparation for the event. Polytechnique Montréal has passed scrutineering and will appear on the starting line tomorrow.

Polytechnique Montréal

Teams that haven’t wrapped up scrutineering in the last three days can still complete it, though doing so will eat into time on track.

Last year, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) and Polytechnique Montreal took first place in the Single-Occupant Vehicle (SOV) and Multi-Occupant Vehicle (MOV) classes, respectively. There’s something in the water in Canada.

You can learn more about the different classes and the specific rules here.

I’ll continue to post more updates as the event continues!

2025 Electrek FSGP schedule

The 2025 Electrek FSGP will again be held at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which, interestingly enough, General Motors occasionally uses for Corvette testing and development. A bit of a full-circle moment being so close to the company that started it all.

The event is open to the public and FREE to attend. Come see the solar car race up close!

Racing starts on July 3 from 10am to 6pm CT and continues through July 5 from 9am to 5pm CT.

July 2 (Wednesday)

  • 9am–7pm: Scrutineering
  • 10am–8pm: Altair Challenge

July 3 (Thursday)

  • 10am–12pm: Altair Challenge
  • 10am–6pm: Hot Track
  • 6pm–8pm: Evening Charging

July 4 (Friday)

  • 7am–9am: Morning Charging
  • 9am–5pm: Hot Track
  • 5pm–8pm: Evening Charging

July 5 (Saturday)

  • 7pm: Awards Ceremony
  • 7am–9am: Morning Charging
  • 9am–5pm: Hot Track

2025 Electrek FSGP teams

Purdue

Kentucky

Florida

Berkeley

UT Austin

Iowa State

RIT

Northwestern

Michigan State

Stanford

Illinois State

Washington

Virginia Tech

Illinois

Waterloo

British Columbia

Missouri S&T

Georgia Tech

Poly Montreal

SIUE

Calgary

Rutgers

Toronto

Florida Poly

Virginia

UC Irvine

Western Ontario

NC State

McMaster

Montana State

UOP

Western Michigan

Puerto Rico

App State

If you’re interested in joining us in sponsoring these events, please get in touch here!

Featured image via Cora Kennedy for Electrek FSGP/ASC.

Note: The Formula Sun Grand Prix is not in any way associated or affiliated with the Formula 1 companies, FORMULA 1 racing, or the FIA Formula One World Championship.

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Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

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Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!

We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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OpenAI says Robinhood’s tokens aren’t equity in the company

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OpenAI says Robinhood's tokens aren't equity in the company

Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images

OpenAI is distancing itself from Robinhood‘s latest crypto push after the trading platform began offering tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe.

“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”

The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”

Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.

“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.

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Robinhood offered 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to eligible EU users who signed up to trade stock tokens by July 7. The assets are issued under the EU’s looser investor restrictions via Robinhood’s crypto platform.

“This is about expanding access,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and GM of crypto. “The goal with tokenization is to let anyone participate in this economy.”

The episode highlights the dynamic between crypto platforms seeking to democratize access to financial products and the companies whose names and equity are being represented on-chain

U.S. users cannot access these tokens due to regulatory restrictions.

Robinhood hits record high as OpenAI, SpaceX go on-chain

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