- New York has awarded $3 million to companies to help connect electric vehicles to the grid.
- One of the recipients is Voltpost, which specializes in converting lampposts into Level 2 charging stations.
- The state now ranks second behind California for the number of active public charging stations.
New York’s electric vehicle boom is starting to look a lot like California’s.
The state now has the second highest number of public charging stations (Almost 18,000) in the country after California (Nearly 58,000). And its unique challenges are also drawing unique solutions at a very opaque time for the EV sector.
Just days after the passage of the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill—which slashes EV tax credits and pulls federal support for clean energy programs—the state of New York sent a very different message.
The state awarded millions in grants under its Vehicle Grid Integration Program, which focuses on the management of EV charging and the grid. Part of the grant went to a project that will convert existing street infrastructure, such as lampposts, into curbside charging stations.
New York City’s tight streets and dense urban layout have long posed challenges for EV infrastructure. But now, the city is embracing innovative curbside charging designs tailored to its unique environment.
Of the $3 million awarded Tuesday by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), nearly $800,000 went to Voltpost, which specializes in converting street lamp posts into Level 2 charging stations.
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Source: Voltpost
Voltpost is already active in NYC, plus Detroit and Oak Park, Illinois. The company says it can convert a lamppost into a Level 2 charging station in under an hour, avoiding noisy construction and reducing costs.
Charging is not as seamless as, say, a Tesla Supercharger, where owners can just plug in and walk away. Users are still required to authenticate through an app using a QR code. But importantly, these stations are space-saving and can help the city’s burgeoning EV fleet with more places to plug in.
Several other charging companies have their own creative solutions, making NYC a hotspot for curbside charger innovations. Brooklyn-based startup itselectric is rolling out sleek Level 2 chargers that blend into the streetscape. Google-backed Gravity is planning DC fast chargers that look as compact as typical Level 2 units, thanks to clever packaging. Curbside chargers from ChargePoint and Canadian firm Flo have also become an increasingly common sight in the city.
NYSERDA has set aside another $4 million, which it will award to companies which can “solve data collection, data transmission and operational challenges faced by utilities when integrating electric vehicles, regardless of supplier, with the electric grid.” This is in addition to $21 million announced last year to build out DC fast charging stations along the state’s highways and $60 million for 267 fast charging stalls in NYC.
Curbside chargers do have problems, though. One of them is gas cars occupying EV charging spots. While NYC curbside chargers boast impressive stats, with 99% uptime and over 70% utilization, roughly 20% of EV-dedicated spots are blocked by gas vehicles, according to city data.
Still, innovations like Voltpost’s could help EVs get baked into the social fabric of NYC and hopefully the rest of the U.S., too. If curbside charging works seamlessly here, that could serve as a blueprint for other big U.S. cities.
Revel’s fast-charging station in Lower Manhattan.
Photo by: Revel
Just a couple of years ago, New York’s charging landscape was largely underwhelming. I’ve waited in long lines at chargers in Brooklyn and have even driven across boroughs sometimes just to find a station that’s available and doesn’t have pay-to-park fees. Today, it’s a different story. A growing network of Tesla Superchargers, state-funded EVolve NY stations and Revel’s expanding fast-charging network has made charging dramatically easier.
The transformation is striking. Charging stations are becoming ubiquitous curbside charging innovations are pointing to an even more exciting EV future.
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