Gravity to open 8 locations with 500 kW, 5-minute EV charging across Los Angeles this year

EV fast-charging startup Gravity is taking its talents to the West Coast. This morning, the company announced a massive US expansion that will bring 500 kW piles capable of 5-minute EV fast charging to eight locations around the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Gravity Inc. is a NY-based startup focused on sustainable fleets and the infrastructure to operate them efficiently. In 2021, the company began rolling out a fleet of all-electric Mustang Mach-E yellow cabs around New York City while partnering with building owners and parking operators to implement electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support individual drivers and large EV fleets.

In October 2023, Gravity released a full suite of 500kW EV chargers, some of the fastest we had seen at the time. That technology caught the eye of Google Ventures (GV), which led to a successful seed funding round for an undisclosed amount a month later. By March 2024, the startup opened a new “Gravity Charging Center” complete with 24 500 kW Distributed Energy Access Points (DEAPs), hailing the chargers as the fastest in the United States.

The following May, Gravity announced it had adapted its DEAP EV chargers into “trees” that can be easily installed curbside to make charging even faster and more convenient for city drivers. At the time, the company also boldly stated a goal to overtake Tesla as the largest fast-charging network in the US.

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Today, Gravity announced it is bringing its 5-minute EV charging technology to Tesla’s home turf of California (albeit it is quite a ways south in LA).

Gravity to bring 5-minute EV charging to Angelenos

This morning, Gravity shared plans to implement at least eight EV fast charging stations across Los Angeles. Each location will feature approximately 12 500kW DEAPs that, according to the startup, can deliver rates twice as fast as Tesla Superchargers (currently topping out at 350kW).

As such, Gravity is promising 5-minute EV charging sessions, although no US model on the road today can handle 500kW fast charging. Still, many BEVs on 800V platforms will be able to take advantage of the higher charge rates, resulting in less time at the station. Gravity Inc. founder and CEO Moshe Cohen spoke about the company’s plans for SoCal:

These new 500kW sites are going to be a game-changer for Los Angelenos. They will be far faster and more reliable than anything drivers and fleet operators have experienced, with autonomous vehicle engineering and vehicle-to-grid equipment that will make them the most advanced sites in the nation. Now that we’ve validated the superior reliability and performance of our technology, we are focused on blanketing several of the country’s most important urban markets–and we are delighted to begin our LA expansion.

Per Gravity Inc., each of the eight five-minute EV charging sites (seen in the rendering above) around Los Angeles is being developed through an agreement with an unnamed “national corporate partner,” and plans are underway to expand to hundreds of additional sites across the country.

In addition to the 500kW DEAPs, Gravity said each location will be erected to be autonomous-ready. It also intends to pilot hands-free charging technology with specific lanes, sensors, and cable-less tech. All sites will be bidirectional and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capable, meaning Gravity can flush excess energy back to the local grid in Los Angeles during peak hours or blackouts, pending approval and compliance from the local energy companies, of course.

The eight planned sites where Gravity hopes to deliver 5-minute EV charging have all been designed by architectural firm Rangr Studio (who worked with the startup in NY) and will be implemented at the following areas:

• Brentwood
• East Pasadena
• Huntington Beach
• Long Beach
• Manhattan Beach
• North Hills
• Pacific Palisades
• Thousand Oaks

Gravity Inc. said the first Los Angeles charging stations will open sometime in 2025.