Meijer Rolling Out Electric Car-Charging Stations

10/8/2020

Meijer Installing Electric Car-Charging Stations Electrify America

With a station installed by Electrify America at a Bloomingdale, Illinois, Meijer location already operational, the companies' plan is to have a total of nine Illinois and Michigan locations up and running by early next year.

Midwestern retailer Meijer is teaming up with Electrify America to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at nine of its stores in Illinois and Michigan. The stations will feature a total of 36 ultra-fast public EV chargers, adding more public-charging options in the greater Chicago area and in the state of Michigan.

“Offering access to electric vehicle charging stations is another way we’re making shopping more convenient for our customers in communities across the Midwest,” said Vik Srinivasan, SVP of properties and real estate for Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meijer. “The opportunity to fully charge your vehicle while shopping is something electric vehicle owners appreciate, so we are pleased to collaborate with Electrify America on our shared goal of achieving a more sustainable future.”

With a station at a Bloomingdale, Illinois, Meijer location already operational, the companies' plan is to have all locations up and running by early next year. The future locations will be in Oswego, Aurora and Evergreen Park, Illinois; and Roseville, Allen Park, Bay City, Cadillac and Gaylord, Michigan.

“Meijer supercenters are known for being convenient ‘one-stop’ shops for everything from groceries to apparel,” noted Anthony Lambkin, senior director of operations at Reston, Virginia-based Electrify America. “By offering electric vehicle-charging stations on-site, we are providing another amenity for customers who can charge their electric vehicles with our ultra-fast chargers while they shop.”

Electrify America chargers range in power from 150 kilowatts (kW) to 350kW, depending on location. An EV capable of accepting a 350kW charge can add about 20 miles of range per minute of charging.

Consumers can find a charging station by downloading the Electrify America mobile app, from which they can also identify the number of chargers currently available, start a charging session, track its progress and pay.

So far, Electrify America has established 480 charging stations with more than 2,100 direct-current (DC) fast chargers, and has another 100-plus sites in development. By the end of next year, the company plans to install or have under development a total of about 800 charging stations with about 3,500 DC fast chargers.

Other retailers to offer car-charging stations include Walmart,Target, Ahold Delhaize USA's Giant Food banner and Choice Market.

Meijer operates more than 245 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The company is No. 19 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Walmart U.S., Target and Ahold Delhaize USA are Nos. 1, 7 and 11, respectively, on PG's list.