Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director John J. Kim has announced plans to spend more than $25 million on new EV charging infrastructure under the Driving a Cleaner Illinois program.
That $25.1 million of Illinois EPA money ($25,152,259.44, to be exact) is being awarded to 20 applicants, and will eventually fund 643 new Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) ports at 141 locations throughout the state. These awards come in addition to $12.6 million the Illinois EPA awarded in Volkswagen Settlement funding (read: Dieselgate penalties) for more than 300 new EV fast charging ports in 2023.
“Through these grants, Illinois will increase the number of fast charging ports by over 100 percent, resulting in nearly 1,000 more fast charging ports available for Illinois’ EV motorists and visitors,” said Director Kim. “This is significant progress in building out EV charging infrastructure throughout Illinois, with more opportunities on the way.”
The money is geared towards putting DCFC charging stations at publicly accessible locations like malls, grocery stores, gas stations, and hotels (etc.). Additional “points” (translation: funds) were awarded to projects in Equity Investment Eligible Communities.
The complete list of award winners is listed, below.
Grantee
Award Amount
Location(s) of EV Chargers
Location Type
3216N Inc
$320,000.00
Elk Grove Village Stone Park
Gas Stations
Adams Electric Cooperative
$277,814.00
Quincy (2)
Community College Hotel
Amoco Food Shop Number 1 Inc
$320,000.00
Chicago (2)
Gas Stations
BP Products North America Inc
$8,320,000.00
Addison Aurora (2) Bellwood Bloomington Bolingbrook Chicago (2) Crystal Lake Des Plaines (2) Effingham (2) Elk Grove Village Glen Ellyn Hampshire Huntley Joliet (2) Kankakee Lake in the Hills Lombard McHenry Morris Mt. Vernon Naperville (2) Romeoville Round Lake Beach Round Lake Park Summit Third Lake Troy Volo West Chicago Woodridge Zion
Gas Stations
Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association
$320,000.00
Carbondale Carterville
University Hotel
Gjovik Ford
$400,000.00
Plano Sandwich
Car Dealerships
GPM Investments LLC
$319,751.44
Edgewood St. Elmo
Gas Stations
ITSM Software Consultants Inc
$1,810,000.00
Algonquin (2) Arlington Heights (2) Bridgeview Buffalo Grove Chicago Matteson North Chicago Roselle West Chicago (2)
Shopping/Retail
Lanman Oil Company
$480,000.00
Charleston Mattoon Tuscola
Gas Stations
OBE Power Networks 1 LLC
$320,000.00
Ottawa (2)
Parks/Recreation
OSF Healthcare System
$320,000.00
Peoria (2)
Healthcare
Pilot Travel Centers LLC
$1,440,000.00
Decatur Effingham Gilman Marion Marshall Oakwood Rochelle Vandalia Woodhull
Gas Stations
PowerPort EVC LLC
$320,000.00
Ashkum Bourbonnais
Shopping/Recreation
Red E Charging LLC
$2,079,402.00
Arcola Atlanta Bolingbrook Brimfield Chicago Fulton Loves Park Marion Peotone Richton Park Shorewood Villa Park Wilmette
Gas Stations
Rivian Automotive LLC
$920,000.00
Normal Oak Brook Springfield
Shopping/Retail
Road Ranger LLC
$1,600,000.00
Bourbonnais Dixon Grayville Marion Marshall McLean Minonk Princeton Rochelle Springfield
Gas Stations
Shiner Management Group Inc
$320,000.00
Gurnee Mundelein
Shopping/Retail
Sustainable Energies Corporation
$1,760,000.00
Country Club Hills East Peoria Glendale Grayslake Gurnee McHenry Melrose Park Moline Round Lake Beach Waukegan (2)
Restaurants
Universal EV LLC
$2,945,292.00
East Peoria (2) Princeton (2) Casey Sandoval Salem Granite City Peoria Decatur Ottawa (5) Gilman Marion Lincoln Hoffman Estates Chillicothe Elk Grove Village
More EV charging infrastructure is undoubtedly a good thing, and these funds are going to help encourage business and public sector entities in the state to keep doing the right thing here and invest in the future of transportation.
Tesla has released a new video that includes some footage of a previously unseen vehicle interior. Could it be an early concept of the interior of the Robotaxi?
For the last few years, Tesla has been working on a vehicle designed from the ground up to be a self-driving vehicles. The company has been referring to it as ‘Robotaxi’.
CEO Elon Musk insists that Tesla is still dedicated to delivering its promised self-driving capability to existing vehicles delivered since 2016 through software update, but it also decided to build a new vehicle designed entirely around the fact that it will be driverless.
Not much is known about the vehicle other than hints that it won’t have a steering wheel or pedals, and that it will be “Cybertruck-like” in terms of design.
Now, Tesla has released a new video, which Musk wanted to make clear he wasn’t involved in, to try to encourage shareholders to vote for his $55 billion compensation package and moving the company’s state of incorporation to Texas:
In the video, many pointed out a shot of the interior of a vehicle that doesn’t match anything Tesla has released to date:
The image shows what appears to be a two-seater vehicle without steering wheel and a center display similar to what is found in current Tesla vehicles.
The seats are unlike what you would find in modern vehicles and something closer to what you would find in public transit, like a train:
Tesla plans to unveil its ‘Robotaxi’ on August 8th. The automaker has recently accelerated its timeline for the vehicle and plans to bring it to market as soon as next year.
Do you think this is an early concept for the Tesla Robotaxi interior? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging just opened more DC fast chargers at Buc-ee’s stores in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.
Three new Mercedes DC fast charging stations are at Buc-ee’s in Fort Worth, Temple, and Royse City. Mercedes asserts that every one of its chargers offers up to 400 kW of power.
It’s also adding 12 more charging stations at Buc-ee’s in the Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston metro areas – also known as the Texas Triangle, home to 68% of Texans:
Buc-ee’s isn’t your typical convenience store – they’re huge, with some stores covering over 50,000 square feet, and they offer a wide variety of items, including snacks, beverages, fresh food, clothing, home decor, and Texas-themed merchandise. It’s known for its homemade fudge, jerky, and beaver nuggets (caramel-coated corn puffs). Most Buc-ee’s locations are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In November 2023, Mercedes announced it had made an agreement with Buc-ee’s to build EV charging hubs at most of its existing stores. Mercedes is aiming to have around 30 online by the end of the year. There are currently 48 Buc-ee’s locations across the US South, 34 of which are in Texas.
When I spoke to Mercedes-Benz High Power Charging CEO Andrew Cornelia last year, he was passionate about the importance of placing EV chargers near amenities that travelers need.
Mercedes offers open access for all EV drivers, including roaming with other charging networks. Its charging hubs support contactless payments with credit cards or smartphone wallets.
The first Mercedes DC fast charging station came online last November at its headquarters in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Mercedes-Benz plans to deploy 2,500 high-powered chargers in 400 hubs by 2027.
Texas is the US’s No. 1 producer of clean energy and ranks fourth in public EV charging. However, to meet driver demand, the state needs around 95,000 more public chargers by 2027.
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Another EV stock may be removed from the Nasdaq exchange. After failing to file its annual report, Polestar (PSNY) received a notice from the Nasdaq as the company faces a possible de-listing.
Polestar, Volvo’s former high-performance unit, was established as an EV brand in 2017 under Geely’s control.
Since launching the Polestar 2, its first all-electric vehicle, the brand has expanded into 27 markets globally. The electric car has even become a top seller in several key markets like Norway, Sweden, and Germany.
However, like many EV startups, Polestar has hit its fair share of hurdles. After cutting guidance late last year (from 80K to 60K), Polestar still missed its target, delivering 54,600 vehicles last year.
In February, Volvo announced plans to sell 62.7% of its stake in Polestar as it looks toward its next growth stage. Volvo also confirmed it will “not provide further funding to Polestar” outside of its existing $1 billion outstanding convertible loan.
The news came after Polestar announced plans to cut 15% of its global workforce amid slowing EV sales earlier this year.
Polestar stock facing potential Nasdaq de-listing
After failing to file its annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, Polestar received a deficiency notice from the Nasdaq.
The notice states Polestar is not in compliance with its listing rules, which require the timely filing of periodic financial reports.
Polestar said the notice has no immediate impact on the company’s listing. However, under the Nasdaq listing rules, Polestar has 60 days to submit an action plan. If Nasdaq accepts it, Polestar could be issued an additional 180 days from the notice date, or until November 2024, to regain compliance.
The company has already received consent from lenders under its nearly $1 billion 3-year loan facility for the late filing. Polestar says it is fully committed to regaining compliance.
Polestar is working to file the annual report “as soon as practicable” and to report Q1 2024 earnings shortly after.
Polestar stock was down over 13% on Monday following the potential de-listing notice. PSNY shares are now down over 50% this year, hitting their lowest prices since going public.
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