As World Pancreatic Cancer Day approaches, Jim Burness, CEO and Founder of Aloha Charge and it’s parent company, National Car Charging, reflects on the incredible influence his mother, Hildy, had on both his life and career. For Jim, this time of year is always poignant—it's a time to honor her fight, her legacy, and her unwavering commitment to sustainability.

A Force of Nature: Hildy’s Impact on Education and the Environment.

Hildy wasn’t just a beloved educator and environmentalist; she was a force of nature, affectionately known as the “recycling maven” at San Francisco Day School (SFD). Her approach to sustainability was ahead of its time, instilling in children the belief that even the smallest actions mattered. 

"She was one of those teachers you never forgot," shared Linda O'Rourke, who worked with Hildy at San Francisco Day School. "People would come back from college or when they were in their 30s to tell her what a difference she had made in their lives. She never quit on a kid. That was true even when she had unpleasant messages to deliver."

As the head of marketing for one of the biggest EV charging providers out there, I get asked all the time: “How do I get more people to use our EV chargers?” 

Let’s be real—whether you’re offering free charging as a perk or planning to make some serious revenue, those chargers aren’t doing much good if they’re just sitting there. So, let’s dive into the fun stuff and explore the best ways to get EV drivers rolling up, plugging in, and turning your stations into the hottest spot in town!

First Off, Congratulations!

By adding EV charging stations to your parking lot—whether it’s at a hotel, apartment complex, office, restaurant, grocery store, mall, municipality, or convenience store—you’re officially part of the forward-thinking, green-energy movement. It likely took a lot of research, planning, and maybe even some serious grant-writing to get here, but now there’s one more step: making sure those chargers get noticed and, more importantly, get used. It’s time to get creative, get bold, and make them an undeniable attraction. 

Here’s your guide to turning your chargers from “just there” to “must-stop here.”

Aloha Charge, Hawai‘i’s leading independent EV charging station reseller and installer, along with its sister company, National Car Charging (NCC), is proud to announce a multi-year contract win with E&I Cooperative Services. This contract enables E&I’s education-focused members nationwide to access highly competitive rates on Level-2 and DC fast charging infrastructure, effective immediately.

“We’re thrilled to have Aloha Charge and National Car Charging selected by E&I Cooperative Services to help bring electric vehicle charging to schools across the country,” said Jim Burness, CEO and founder of NCC and Aloha Charge. “Education plays a critical role in America’s electrification movement, and this partnership will not only improve our children’s health but also highlight the importance of clean energy for our communities.”

National Car Charging (NCC), the nation’s most experienced independent electric vehicle (EV) charging station reseller and installer, announced it has been awarded a multi-year NASPO ValuePoint® Master Agreement with the State of Maryland. This contract covers electric vehicle (EV) Level 2 (AC) and DC fast (DCFC) charging hardware, networking software, and O&M services. Although the rigorous review process was led by Maryland, the prestigious contract is open to all 50 U.S. states and territories. It aims to help public entities nationwide meet the growing demand for EV charging infrastructure through the Participating Addendum Process. Through this agreement, NCC and its Honolulu-based subsidiary, Aloha Charge, will efficiently and cost-effectively offer their products to state and local governments and educational entities across the nation.

By Kamala Vanderkolk,

I’m often asked "How quickly can this charge an EV?" However, when it comes to electric vehicles (EVs), you need to shift your mindset from the traditional way of fueling gas cars. Unlike gas cars that require frequent trips to the pump, EVs make the most of the time your car is parked, often charging overnight at home or during the day at work. This convenience allows for a seamless and integrated approach to keeping your vehicle powered. Instead of viewing “fueling up” as another time consuming errand, think of EV charging as something that happens effortlessly in the background, just like doing laundry at home. Yes, just like doing laundry, only even easier because there’s no folding or clothes to put away.

All eyes were on Maui today, where the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced the opening of the first electric vehicle charging stations funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program in Hawai’i. Today’s blessing and dedication of these landmark stations represented a crucial milestone in the NEVI program, transportation electrification and Hawaiʻi's journey towards a sustainable future. The Kahului Park and Ride on Kuihelani Highway now boasts four 150-kilowatt Tritium DC fast chargers, the fastest units in the state open to all EVs.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed tremendous pride in the opening of the first federally funded EV charging stations in the State of Hawai‘i. This move is in line with President Biden's vision to establish a nationwide network of EV chargers, ensuring all Americans benefit from the transition to clean energy.

Written by Jim Burness, CEO & Founder, National Car Charging & Aloha Charge

Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of press around Hertz's decision to scale back its electric vehicle (EV) initiative. The media has mostly attributed the cutback on depressed resale values of used EVs and their high repair costs for damage. However, I’ve yet to see an article about what I suspect is another key culprit - their rollout strategy. 

Before we dive in, let me state up front that I do applaud Hertz for integrating EVs into their fleets. As a category leader, it only makes sense for them to lead the rental market into and through the electrification transition and to come to market as boldly as they did. It was a huge undertaking. Unfortunately, there were some fatal flaws in their strategy that we’ll delve into below. 

At first blush, the future of EVs and farming may not seem interconnected; however, the future of agriculture, especially in the United States, is uniquely dependent on the rise of electrified transportation for its survival and that of the planet’s.

Agriculture and climate change.

Farming has long been at the mercy of Mother Nature. Even the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz is the story of a tornado threatening the family farm. Those fears and weather uncertainties have only escalated over time. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the release of vast quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere has altered the earth’s climate, and in turn, has greatly impacted our farming communities.

The Game-Changing Impact of Electric Cars on Environmental Equity.

With gas prices soaring, 2022 is very quickly being dubbed the year of the electric car. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) can help save us money, reduce our carbon footprint, and protect our domestic energy independence, the transition to electrification is also a direct path to environmental justice, especially in our pollution-filled cities across the United States.

What is environmental justice?

Environmental justice embraces the idea that we all have a right to equal protection and equal enforcement of environmental laws and regulations. Studies have shown lower income neighborhoods, and specifically communities of color, are more likely to be situated near highways, high traffic areas, manufacturing plants, garbage dumps, and so on and as such, disproportionately bear the brunt of environmental deterioration or pollution. While housing may be cheaper in these areas, it comes at a high cost for residents including exposure to contaminated soil and polluted air.

REPOSTED from the Tritium Blog. 

Load balancing is more than just an efficient way to distribute power to charging EVs. It can enable charge point operators (CPOs) to use less-than-optimal power feeds by maximizing available power capacity, save on electricity costs, and help them charge more vehicles overall. Here’s how. 

REPOSTED from the ChargePoint Blog. Written by Michael Hughes, Chief Revenue Officer at ChargePoint

Seeing more electric vehicles (EVs) pulling into your lots? If you haven’t already, you will very soon. Global sales of passenger EVs are expected to surge over the next few years, rising from 10.5 million in 2022 to approximately 27 million in 2026, according to the 2023 BloombergNEF (BNEF) Long-Term Electric Vehicle Outlook report. BNEF predicts that in the U.S., thanks to a new round of federal incentives, EVs will make up about 28% of passenger vehicle sales by 2026.

These numbers mean parking lots will be filling up with EVs looking to get a charge. The new way to fuel will be more like plugging in your phone while you do other activities (in this case, shop, work, dine out, go to appointments and more) rather than making a special stop at a fueling station.

REPOSTED from the ChargePoint Blog.  Written by Bill Loewenthal.

It can be easy to think that deploying electric vehicle (EV) charging is as simple as putting stations in the ground, but focusing on hardware is asking the wrong question. When we talk to customers running the most advanced EV charging programs out there, supporting thousands of drivers every day, a key theme we hear over and over is that success in EV charging requires having the right hardware and the right software to manage it. That’s because it’s the software that gives you the power to build a best-in-class EV charging program and scale as your needs change and your driver base grows. No matter who is charging or what they drive, our software lets you meet their needs.

Whether you’re initially looking to serve employees, customers, residents or fleet vehicles, you’ll likely find that the audience you serve grows over time. Choosing a software-driven EV charging solution will give you the flexibility and power you need to address these changing requirements and manage stations, vehicles and drivers to make EV charging work for your business in a way that's easy to track and scale. 

REPOSTED from the ChargePoint Blog

Nothing gets ChargePoint as excited as talking about the EV revolution and they are obsessed with ensuring people have the freedom to roam wherever they choose. The ChargePoint app puts the EV universe in the palm of your hand – literally. As a company founded by and for EV drivers, they designed their app to make the EV driver experience as simple, affordable and convenient as possible. Being connected to the largest EV charging network in the world doesn’t hurt either.

Learn more about some app features that put the EV driver front and center:

REPOSTED from the Tritium Blog. 

The International Energy Agency expects worldwide EV sales to reach 14 million in 2023, and 28 million in 2024. They predict that by 2030 there will be 140 million electric cars on the road worldwide. Scientists, engineers, and manufacturers are developing new battery technology to meet demands—and to make EVs lighter, more efficient, more affordable, and be capable of faster charging. 

By Tritium

In June 2023, Ford and GM announced they’d be switching from the Combined Charging System (CCS) to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors for their future EVs. Less than a month later Mercedes-Benz, Polestar, Rivian, and Volvo also announced they’d support the NACS standard for their US vehicles in the coming years. The switch to NACS from CCS seems to have complicated the electric vehicle (EV) charging landscape, but it’s a great opportunity for charger manufacturers and charge point operators (CPOs). With NACS, CPOs will be able to charge more than 1.3 million Tesla EVs on the road in the US.

What is NACS? NACS is Tesla’s previously proprietary direct current (DC) fast charging connector standard—formerly known simply as the “Tesla charging connector.” It has been used with Tesla cars since 2012 and the connector design became available …

REPOSTED from the Tritium Blog. 

More and more hotel and resort guests drive electric vehicles (EVs), and many guests rent EVs to get around while they’re in town. Soon EV fast chargers will be standard at many hotels and resorts, but today adding a charger or two to your property can set you apart from the competition, attracting EV drivers and guests who want to drive EVs during their stay. Here are some benefits to installing a charger at your hotel or resort. 

Aloha Charge, a National Car Charging company based in Honolulu, announced today that it will be providing all the DC fast charging hardware and software for the first round of the State of Hawai’i’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program funding.

… Federal Highway Administration approved Hawai’i’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan, granting the state access to $2.6 million of NEVI funding in FY2022. As part of their NEVI deployment plan, HDOT is utilizing its existing contract with Sustainability Partners, a public benefit company mandated to form reliable and enduring partnerships with public institutions for the advancement of their critical infrastructure.

How Electric Cars are Changing the Architecture of Parking.

The EV revolution is speeding towards us. In the last five years, electric cars have gone from being something you occasionally saw on the road to being everywhere. Last year, there were more than 750,000 new all-electric cars registered in the U.S. - a 57% increase over 2021. In total, EVs represented nearly 6% of all new cars sold last year, while gas cars saw a 11% drop in sales. And we’re seeing them on the roads. Just this morning while taking my daughter to school, I saw 15 Teslas, three (3) Rivians, two (2) ID4s and a Bolt - 20 electric cars in the span of a two mile round trip commute. 

With this fast paced change comes new thinking around fueling and how that impacts businesses like parking. With smaller footprints and no EPA regulation, electric fueling can now really happen anywhere and parking lots and garages are a natural fit. However, with any exponentially growing industry, it’s hard to fully see the breadth and depth of what’s coming and how to plan, especially with legislation lagging. 

By: Jim Burness

Navigating monumental company growth in an emerging industry while balancing all the normal day-to-day business demands.

When I started National Car Charging (NCC), it wasn’t my first rodeo and I knew what I was getting into. Long hours, wearing multiple hats, and lots of juggling. As any entrepreneur will tell you, starting a company isn’t for the faint of heart. 

Thankfully, I brought lots of experience to the table from other leadership roles at both my own and others’ companies. Some were big and others small, and each had their own challenges, so I had a handle on what kind of company culture I wanted to create and how I wanted to lead it.

By Bhavik Dani

Amenities like hot breakfast, Wi-Fi, complimentary cocktails, and other perks attract business and help you remain competitive. EV charging is no different. With soaring gas prices, electric car sales outpaced that of gas cars in 2022 and are on track to do the same in 2023, leading more and more travelers to book their next hotel stay based on where they can “fuel up.”