Imagine, if you will, the ‘gas stations’ of the future. They will, of course, no longer have any fuel…except electricity. With electric cars becoming the next big move towards the future, the real question is how will we all be able to charge our cars on the road when we run out of power. Yes, this will essentially require what we currently refer to as gas stations.

However, there is an issue with charging electric cars that isn’t there for petrol or diesel-driven traditional ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles. Whilst you might be able to fill up your car with either fuel fairly quickly or easily, this is not the case for electric vehicles (EVs) because, in order to charge them, you need to be spending a lot more time sitting around while you wait for your car to charge. 

Starbucks believes that they have the perfect solution

Photo by Kindel Media

I’ll admit that it hadn’t really crossed my mind that this might well become an issue. According to Adele Peters of Fast Company, by 2030, there could be at least 26 million EVs in the USA.

If you’re anything like me, you also won’t be thrilled to sit in your car for 30 minutes or more while it charges so that you can get on with your day. Whether you’re on a road trip or have simply forgotten to plug your car in to charge overnight, it’s no doubt going to become necessary to have plenty of opportunities to charge your car. 

And Starbucks, with15 000 locations across the US, have seen that gap in the market and decided that they are well placed to fill it.

Starbucks is already well known as a popular remote workspace in any case and of course, they have food and drinks too.

Ultimately, rather than sitting, bored, for half an hour, you can simply pull up to your local Starbucks ‘gas station’ and charge your car while you go inside to work, eat or simply grab a coffee. 

The pilot program launches this year

Together with Volvo and Chargepoint, Starbucks is launching a pilot program in 2022. This will see the company install “EV chargers in its parking lots along a 1,350-mile route from Denver to Seattle”. The idea is to have stops around every 100 miles. Michael Kobori, chief sustainability officer at Starbucks, described the stretch as a “charging desert” as “there aren’t too many charging stations available there”. 

Photo by Lina Kivaka

Currently, even with rapid advancements, EVs still take, on average, more than 30 minutes to charge. Volvo says that its electric vehicles can go from 20% to 90% in just 40 minutes. That’s actually pretty rapid considering the amount of time the average laptop or phone takes to charge, but it certainly won’t feel like it when you’re stuck sitting in your car counting the minutes. 

The perfect partnership

Kobori argues that if you’re on a road trip, you’re likely to stop for coffee and/or breakfast in any case. Starbucks would already serve that specific purpose but, this pilot, if successful, will see customers gaining additional value when they choose Starbucks over any other café because they will also be able to charge their EV while they enjoy a break from the road. 

If you’re on a road trip, you’ll likely want to take breaks and even stop to plan out your route. But this could also be fantastic, if expanded, for the day-to-day needs of EV users. If I consider how often I have forgotten to put something (my laptop for instance) on to charge overnight only to find it on a very low battery level in the morning, it isn’t unlikely in my opinion that as EVs become the norm, the same thing will happen. 

And perhaps your boss is likely to feel more forgiving if you’re late to work, but bring them a Starbucks to kickstart their morning. 

Will it go nationwide and perhaps, even worldwide?

The answer to this is really, maybe. At the moment, Starbucks is testing the waters and will gauge usage rates in order to decide whether or not the service will be expanded nationally.

If it does go ahead, it will form part of the company’s larger sustainability plan, which aims to make the company “resource positive”. This also includes a goal to “capture more carbon than it emits”.

References

https://www.fastcompany.com/90730929/starbucks-wants-to-become-the-gas-station-of-the-future-for-evs

https://medium.com/@adamjsimon/why-starbucks-may-replace-the-gas-station-6b19b4a28a85