Durham finally gets its first downtown DC fast charger

Kempower just cut the ribbon on downtown Durham, North Carolina’s first public DC fast-charging station. The new charger is operated in partnership with National Car Charging.

The new station at 111 W. Chapel Hill Street has two plugs (CCS1 and CHAdeMO) and is near restaurants and shops. The Durham area has plenty of Level 2 chargers, but this is its first DC fast charger downtown. Until now, the closest fast charger was three miles away from downtown.

Kempower, a Finnish company with its US office and factory in Durham, doesn’t mention the number of kilowatts its DC fast charger can deliver. However, PlugShare reports that a Ford F-150 Lightning managed 171 kW yesterday.

I asked the City of Durham’s spokesperson why it’s taken this long to install a DC fast charger downtown, and they replied that the “downtown core in Durham is densely developed and there are not many locations for chargers that have the right conditions and available power infrastructure for commercially viable fast chargers.”

Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams said the charger represents another step forward for the city’s clean energy goals: “With this locally built EV fast charger in the heart of downtown, we’re not only reducing our community’s carbon footprint – we’re supporting local jobs, clean energy, and a more connected future for everyone who calls Durham home.”

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As of 2025, North Carolina had more than 306 DC fast-charging stations and 1,385 ports.

Electrek’s Take

The City of Durham’s explanation of why it’s taken this long to get a fast charger downtown is a bit of a head-scratcher for me. It must be more of an infrastructure issue, or perhaps a matter of politics or funding, because density hasn’t stopped other cities from installing fast chargers in urban areas. Kempower provided 10 fast chargers at Pier 36 in Lower Manhattan, in collaboration with Revel, in September 2024. At any rate, it’s progress for Durham worth celebrating.

Read more: PowerUp America is adding 100 new fast chargers in the Southeast

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