Plaid Pantry Debuts First EV Charger

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Plaid Pantry teamed with Electric Era Technologies to open its first proprietary PowerNode electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging station at a convenience store in Portland, Ore. This marks the first of more than 10 commercial installations across the Unites States in 2023.

Electric Era has a goal of opening 10,000 PowerNode EV fast-charging station installations across the country by 2030.

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A ribbon-cutting was held at the Plaid Pantry c-store, located at 6060 Northeast Columbia Blvd. in Portland, on Nov. 10. Plaid Pantry Chairman and CEO Jonathan Polonsky and Sith Dharmasiri, vice president of software at Electric Era, delivered comments at the event.

"We're proud to lead the way in providing our Portland-area customers with premium, reliable EV fast-charging. Our customers value and trust the quality and convenience that is synonymous with Plaid Pantry," said Polonsky. "Now, as the go-to location to quickly charge their EV in minutes while making a pit stop or picking up snacks for the road, Plaid Pantry is modeling the future of refill for customers."

The Plaid Pantry installation is the first of its kind for Electric Era's patented AC-coupled microgrid EV fast-charging technology, which combines battery and grid power in real time to distribute to EVs when they charge. The proprietary technology uses 25 percent of the typical draw from legacy EV chargers on the electrical grid, from 800kW down to 200kW, allowing operators to avoid demand-based operating expenses and bolstering the reliability of aging infrastructure, according to the company.

A 10-minute charge from the PowerNode charging station can typically deliver 100 miles of range, depending on the vehicle age and onboard technology.

"Electric Era's PowerNode EV fast-charging station combines industry leading reliability, low grid requirements, and the lowest total cost of ownership to enable a whole new business case for retailers," said Michael D'Aurizio, investment director for climate technology at HSBC Asset Management. "This deployment shows why we invested in Electric Era as they built a premium EV charging station for EV drivers with rocketry levels of reliability."

Beaverton-based Plaid Pantries Inc. operates more than 100 convenience stores from Salem, Ore., to Seattle.