Freewire’s game-changing EV charging solutions expand outside the US into the EU
Freewire Technologies’ unique approach to EV light charging infrastructure is already setting the stage to quickly bolster available chargers under the Biden administration’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, but Freewire is now setting its sights on Europe with a second headquarters.
Freewire Technologies is an EV fast charging and energy management solutions company founded in 2014 that is expediting the world’s transition to electric vehicles by providing more scrappy and turnkey infrastructure to grids around the US.
The company first caught our attention back in 2018 when Volvo Cars invested in it, but most recently, we got a look at its technology at CES and were extremely impressed with its potential. Rather than take the tedious approach of many charging networks requiring high-voltage connection to the local grid, extensive installation labor, and plenty of red tape from municipal governments, Freewire has created a lineup of turnkey battery-integrated piles it calls Boost Chargers.
These fast chargers utilize integrated battery storage and proprietary management software to operate using existing low voltage and low-power grid connections while still delivering DC charging capabilities.
For instance, Freewire’s Boost Charger 200 features a 160 kWh battery capacity and only needs an eighth of the input power of a traditional charging pile while still delivering 200 kW to any and all EV models that plug in. That equates to up to 200 miles of range after just 15 minutes of charging.
This unique technology enables more cost-effective deployments anywhere that can be completed in a matter of a couple of days if not hours. Freewire’s approach also makes the Boost Chargers easy to scale or relocate without cities or businesses having to commit to permanent installation.
Its unique spin on EV charging infrastructure is a huge reason why Freewire was specifically mentioned in the fact sheet of the Biden Administration’s NEVI program. As Freewire looks to expand its technologies in the US, it is already working to bring the same low-cost, energy-efficient perks to customers in Europe as well.
Freewire to open new headquarters, bring charging to EU
This morning, Freewire technologies announced a larger expansion into Europe with a new headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK – which will see a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 19. The new headquarters will also include a sales and demonstration center and serve as the company’s hub as it expands through the EU.
The company states its initial focus will be on the UK, Ireland, and Benelux region, followed by Spain and Italy later this year before expanding to other markets. Freewire already has some Boost Chargers deployed in the EU through a previously announced partnership with BP, which was followed by a partnership with car dealership Bauwelinck (seen above) this past February. Freewire’s European head of sales, James Jean-Louis, spoke to the continued expansion overseas:
Our expansion in Europe is a milestone FreeWire has reached following a year of major growth. We have increased our headcount by 70% and deployed Boost Chargers in four new countries just in the last 12 months. FreeWire is well-positioned to tap into the growing European market. We see a major opportunity to offer reliable, flexible, and cost-effective infrastructure that can be deployed quickly to support the rapid increase in demand for ultrafast EV charging in Europe.
Freewire states it has also established a partnership with regional fuel station operator Otamar and recently completed its first Boost Charger installation in the Galicia region of Spain along a major highway near the border with Portugal.
Next, Freewire will continue to build out its team in Europe while establishing new charging partnerships in the markets mentioned above. Check out the company’s unique Boost Charger technology explained below.
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On today’s road-ready episode of Quick Charge, Tesla released data hinting that its Autopilot ADAS solution may be less safe to use than before. We’ve also got some news from inside the Tesla diner experience, plus a 250,000 mile Ford Mustang Mach-E that still has more than 90% of its battery capacity left!
We also cover Lucid’s plans to reinvigorate American EV manufacturing WITHOUT help from Washington by forging stronger bonds between automakers, mineral miners, and battery recyclers – plus: Optimus breaks down.
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Environment
91% of renewables are cheaper than fossil fuels, but Trump just defunded a vital US grid upgrade
Renewables continued to dominate fossil fuels on price in 2024, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The big takeaway: Clean energy is the cheapest power around – by a wide margin. So it’s pretty bad business that the biggest grid upgrade project in US history just got kneecapped by Trump’s Department of Energy to stop the “green scam.”
On average, solar power was 41% cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel in 2024, and onshore wind was 53% cheaper. Onshore wind held its spot as the most affordable new source of electricity at $0.034 per kilowatt-hour, with solar close behind at $0.043/kWh.
IRENA’s report says global renewables added 582 gigawatts (GW) of capacity last year, which avoided about $57 billion in fossil fuel costs. That’s not a small dent. Even more impressive: 91% of all new renewable power projects built in 2024 were cheaper than any new fossil fuel option.
Technological innovation, strong supply chains, and economies of scale are driving the cost advantage. Battery prices are helping too: IRENA says utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are now 93% cheaper than they were in 2010, with prices averaging $192/kWh in 2024.
But it’s not all smooth sailing. The report flags short-term cost pressures from trade tensions, material bottlenecks, and rising costs in some regions. North America and Europe feel more squeezed than others due to permitting delays, limited grid capacity, and higher system costs.
Meanwhile, countries in Asia, Africa, and South America could see faster cost drops thanks to stronger learning rates and abundant solar and wind resources.
One big challenge is financing. In developing countries, high interest rates and perceived investor risk inflate the levelized cost of electricity of renewables. For example, wind power generation costs were about the same in Europe and Africa last year ($0.052/kWh), but financing made up a much larger share of project costs in Africa. IRENA estimates the cost of capital was just 3.8% in Europe but 12% in Africa.
And even if projects are affordable to build, many are getting stuck in grid connection queues or stalled by slow permitting. Those “integration costs” are now a major hurdle, especially in fast-growing G20 and emerging markets.
Tech is helping with some of that – hybrid solar-wind-storage setups and AI-powered tools are improving grid performance and project efficiency. But digital infrastructure and grid modernization still lag in many places, holding renewables back.
“Renewables are rising, the fossil fuel age is crumbling,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “But leaders must unblock barriers, build confidence, and unleash finance and investment.”
IRENA’s bottom line is that the economics of renewables are stronger than ever, but to keep the momentum going, governments and markets need to reduce risks, streamline permitting, and invest in grids.
Electrek’s Take
Speaking of unblocking barriers and investment, the opposite just happened today in Trump World. The Department of Energy just canceled a $4.9 billion conditional loan commitment for the 800-mile Grain Belt Express Phase 1 transmission project, the biggest transmission line in US history.
It’s a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line connecting Kansas wind farms across four states. It will connect four grids, improving reliability. It will be able to power 50 data centers and create 5,500 jobs. Phase 1 is due to start next year.
The new grid will also connect all forms of energy, not just renewables, and it’s super pathetic that Invenergy had to stoop to put up a map on the project’s home page today showing how it will transmit fossil fuels, the “existing dispatchable generation source,” and felt it had to leave renewables off the map entirely. Sorry, Kansas wind farms, you get no mention because this administration doesn’t like you.
Chicago-based Invenergy plans to build the 5 GW Grain Belt Express in phases from Kansas to Illinois. The company says the project will save customers $52 billion in energy costs over 15 years. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) complained to Trump about the project, calling it a “green scam,” and got the government loan canceled based on a lie, claiming it would cost taxpayers “billions.” This was Invenergy’s response on X:
As usual, Trump was swayed by the last person in the room, and Hawley shot an entire region in the foot when an upgraded grid and more renewables are needed more than ever. Hopefully, this project can continue despite the ignorant shortsightedness coming from the Republicans (who ironically released an AI Action Plan today).
It beggars belief that this political party is this isolated from the rest of the world – well, besides our besties Iran, Libya, and Yemen, who aren’t part of the Paris Agreement either – and being that the US is the world’s No 2 polluter, the world will suffer for its arrogance.
Read more: FERC: Solar + wind made up 96% of new US power generating capacity in first third of 2025
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Environment
Elon Musk with a straight face: Tesla Robotaxi will cover half of US population by end of the year
Elon Musk claims that Tesla Robotaxi will cover half of the US population by the end of the year and we can’t stop laughing.
Today, Tesla released its Q2 2025 financial results.
Earnings are down 23% on falling electric vehicle sales and lower margins, but Tesla’s stock is not crashing because CEO Elon Musk is promising a return to earnings growth through autonomous driving and humanoid robots.
We previously reported on how Tesla’s Robotaxi effort is a major shift in strategy for Tesla, which has been promising unsupervised self-driving in its customer vehicles for years.
Instead, the Robotaxi service consists of an internal fleet operating within a geo-fenced area, currently only in Austin, Texas, and powered by teleoperation and in-car supervisors with a finger on a kill switch at all times.
“I believe half of the population of the US will be covered by Tesla’s Robotaxi by the end of the year.”
He added that he believes that regulatory approval will be the biggest hurdle, even though Tesla’s current service requires a Tesla employee in each car, which is a major hurdle to scaling.
Musk and Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of self-driving, both claimed that the Bay Area will be the first market where Tesla plans to expand its Robotaxi service. However, Elluswamy added that the program will initially have a driver in the driver’s seat.
This makes sense considering we learned last week that Tesla has yet to apply for the proper permits to operate an autonomous ride-hailing service in California.
Electrek’s Take
This is laughable. Who believes that? How can Elon say that with a straight face when Tesla only has a joke of a system that requires supervision at all times?
For context, Tesla currently only operates in a little over half of Austin, Texas. Here’s the list of all the metro areas Tesla would need to launch Robotaxi by the end of the year to cover half of the US population:
| Rank | Metro Area | Population | Cumulative Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 19.15 M | 19.15 M |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 12.68 M | 31.83 M |
| 3 | Chicago | 9.04 M | 40.87 M |
| 4 | Houston | 6.89 M | 47.76 M |
| 5 | Dallas–Fort Worth | 6.73 M | 54.49 M |
| 6 | Miami | 6.37 M | 60.86 M |
| 7 | Atlanta | 6.27 M | 67.13 M |
| 8 | Philadelphia | 5.86 M | 72.99 M |
| 9 | Washington, DC | 5.60 M | 78.59 M |
| 10 | Phoenix | 4.83 M | 83.42 M |
| 11 | Boston | 4.40 M | 87.82 M |
| 12 | Seattle | 3.58 M | 91.40 M |
| 13 | Detroit | 3.54 M | 94.94 M |
| 14 | San Diego | 3.37 M | 98.31 M |
| 15 | San Francisco | 3.36 M | 101.67 M |
| 16 | Tampa | 3.04 M | 104.71 M |
| 17 | Minneapolis–St. Paul | 2.62 M | 107.33 M |
| 18 | St. Louis | 2.80 M | 110.13 M |
| 19 | Denver | 2.99 M | 113.12 M |
| 20 | Baltimore | 2.83 M | 115.95 M |
| 21 | Orlando | 2.76 M | 118.71 M |
| 22 | Charlotte | 2.75 M | 121.46 M |
| 23 | San Antonio | 2.60 M | 124.06 M |
| 24 | Austin | 2.42 M | 126.48 M |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 2.43 M | 128.91 M |
| 26 | Sacramento | 2.42 M | 131.33 M |
| 27 | Las Vegas | 2.32 M | 133.65 M |
| 28 | Cincinnati | 2.26 M | 135.91 M |
| 29 | Kansas City | 2.19 M | 138.10 M |
| 30 | Columbus | 2.14 M | 140.24 M |
| 31 | Cleveland | 2.16 M | 142.40 M |
| 32 | Indianapolis | 2.12 M | 144.52 M |
| 33 | San José | 1.99 M | 146.51 M |
| 34 | Virginia Beach–Norfolk | 1.76 M | 148.27 M |
| 35 | Providence | 1.68 M | 149.95 M |
| 36 | Milwaukee | 1.57 M | 151.52 M |
| 37 | Jacksonville | 1.60 M | 153.12 M |
| 38 | Raleigh–Durham | 1.45 M | 154.57 M |
| 39 | Nashville | 1.43 M | 156.00 M |
| 40 | Oklahoma City | 1.42 M | 157.42 M |
| 41 | Richmond | 1.30 M | 158.72 M |
| 42 | Louisville | 1.28 M | 160.00 M |
| 43 | Salt Lake City | 1.26 M | 161.26 M |
| 44 | New Orleans | 1.23 M | 162.49 M |
| 45 | Hartford | 1.20 M | 163.69 M |
| 46 | Buffalo | 1.11 M | 164.80 M |
| 47 | Birmingham | 1.10 M | 165.90 M |
This is ridiculous. The lies are becoming increasingly larger and more brazen. We know what that means.
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