OEM alliance and EV charging juggernaut IONNA has announced a key milestone today, transitioning from public beta testing in the US to a full-scale national release. The EV charging joint venture intends to deploy over 1,000 bays in the US this year en route to tens of thousands more this decade and has teased some exciting tech to make the overall experience more familiar for American drivers.
IONNA is an exciting new US EV charging joint venture initially announced in July 2023. It features an ensemble cast of noted OEMs, including BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Toyota. At the time, the partners shared plans to leverage federal and state investments in public charging with their own public and private funding to quickly develop and implement a new network of “high-powered” EV chargers across North America.
Each pending site will have multiple DC fast chargers accessible to all EV drivers, whether their vehicles use CCS or NACS (should we even mention CHAdeMO anymore?). That joint venture would later be named IONNA, a nod to its European counterpart, IONITY.
By February 2024, IONNA had named its first CEO and received approval from all necessary regulatory agencies to begin operations later that year in a public beta phase. One year later, IONNA is transitioning out of beta and is beginning its national release en route to deploying over 30,000 EV charging bays in the US (and maybe Canada?) over the next five years.
IONNA to begin wide scale US EV charging expansion
As posted by BMW on behalf of IONNA today, the unprecedented EV charging joint venture will begin its planned expansion in the US following a successful public beta phase. Per the release:
After a rigorous testing phase in late 2024, automaker vehicle fleets and everyday drivers helped stress-test the IONNA network, completing more than 4,400 charging sessions, on over 80 unique vehicle models, and dispensing nearly 63 thousand kilowatt-hours of energy. IONNA has refined its hardware, software, and customer experience to confidently step into a new phase of nationwide expansion.
To mark the milestone, all eight automakers met at IONNA’s first EV charging site in the US (what it calls a “Rechargery”), located in Apex, North Carolina, near its headquarters and Customer Experience Lab in Durham.
This week, the Apex Rechargery will be joined by the opening of additional EV charging stations around the US, including Houston, Texas, and Abilene, Kansas. A Rechargery in Willcox, Arizona, is now one of seven additional charging sites under construction and one of over 100 contracted nationwide.
IONNA intends to bring over 1,000 additional EV charging bays online in the US this year, “delivering on its mission to provide the coverage drivers need, the reliability they deserve, and the amenities they crave.” Speaking of amenities, we’ve learned more about what EV drivers can expect when visiting an IONNA Rechargery.
Its US EV charging locations will continue to offer Plug & Charge capabilities – a feature that will continue to be adopted by more EV automakers going forward. IONNA is also working to enable convenience features such as AI-driven smart reservations and routing optimization, plus in-car payments.
This quarter, at its Garner, North Carolina Rechargery, the joint venture is introducing automated grab-and-go offerings by collaborating with Amazon utilizing computer vision powered by AI and sensor fusion technology. During their EV charges, IONNA customers can visit 24/7 retail spaces and walk out with their items without waiting in line to checkout.
IONNA is looking to reimagine the US road trip for a new age of EV drivers and is utilizing exciting technology to provide people with a new yet familiar experience. Watch for IONNA Rechargeries as the joint venture expands through 2025 and beyond.
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