The United States needs 1.2M more Public EV Chargers in the next 6 years, with the majority needing to be located within dense urban environments . This lack of charging infrastructure remains the largest deterrent in EV adoption. It does not just stop there either as even once drivers gain access to the infrastructure, currently 1-in-5 publicly-accessible EV chargers do not work. Meaning not only do we need more chargers, we need more dependable chargers, and we need them everywhere. But how can we scale public charging when the models that all exist require extensive time and capital to install based on their shared foundational design of connection to the main utility? This puzzle inspired itselectric to develop an entirely new model. To solve this critical infrastructure barrier cities face in the deployment of public electric vehicle charging. As the world’s first public curbside charging system powered by buildings, itselectric is unlike every other solution on the market. itselectric’s charging post design and related business model entirely avoid the costly, grid restricted, time-consuming barrier of connecting to the utility
– allowing them to install chargers in just 2 days and at less than 1/10th of the cost of other public chargers. itselectric is bringing EV charging to the 40 million U.S. drivers who cannot charge due to a lack of dedicated off-street parking, allowing these drivers to convert to electric, accelerating the adoption of EVs across the U.S. with speed and with scale. Though they are Brooklyn born, this is a story of innovation in Detroit. itselectric’s work began in the Detroit Smart Parking Lab (DSPL) in 2022 with support form NextEnergy and is now the DSPL’s first graduate bringing their technology into real-world public deployments within the city. The DSPL is a unique partnership between Bedrock, Bosch, Ford, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) designed to support technology startups as they test and demonstrate solutions for last-mile mobility, sustainable parking, and electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure enhancement. Having graduated from the Lab itselectric’s technology is now coming to a Detroit block near you. This work is being funded in part through grants provided by DTE Energy as an Emerging Tech Fund grant partner and the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (MMFP). As the first American Made EV charger that offers a detachable cord, sidestepping broken cords, a well documented cause of customer dissatisfaction and major barrier to building reliable public charging. itselectric is also the first and only charging solution to offer a revenue-sharing model within communities to spur deployment, creating a new benchmark within the EV infrastructure industry by using the same successful strategy already proven in other climate tech sectors (wind and solar power). itselectric chargers are installed on existing utilities, partnering with businesses to utilize their excess power to energize these public-facing chargers. itselectric covers all hardware, installation and energy costs while exercising a revenue sharing model with the partner property which is projected to provide each building with around $1000 a year per charger in passive income. This entirely new model alleviates the stress of permitting, installation, and maintenance from the property owner, while boosting the local economy across Detroit. The first of these 25 installations are planned for Corktown, Mexicantown, and LeSalle Park. itselectric received additional funding at the Federal level from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to install additional chargers in Detroit’s Justice40 neighborhoods ensuring equity that EV infrastructure is in every community regardless of median income. The founding team is a story unto itself. Two designers that met in undergrad while studying at Parsons School of Design in New York; Nathan King, AIA (CEO/Co-Founder) is a LEED certified licensed architect with 20 years of experience building sustainable cities. Across his career he has designed and managed large-scale and complex urban construction. It was during the COVID-19 Pandemic when he was leading the team designing the new NYC Public Health Laboratory as the Senior Technical Architect at the global architecture firm SOM that the idea for itselectric took root and allowed his expertise in permitting and implementation within the built environment to translate into the acceleration of electrified transportation for cities across the U.S. Tiya Gordon (COO/Co-Founder) holds 20 years experience in design, leadership, and operations across a range of disciplines for some of the country’s top firms and institutions. She is now venturing to spend the next 20 years on projects that use design to wage war against the Climate Crisis. First time founders who in just the one year since graduating from DSPL have accomplished more than most companies can claim in a decade; In their first year of operation (2023) itselectric was selected for the White House EV Acceleration Challenge, WON the SXSW Innovation Award, the Fast Company Innovation By Design Award for Sustainability, The City Solution of the Year from judges of the Earthshot Prize and in December was named The Next Big Thing In Tech. They then started 2024 as a World Economic Forum Top Innovator. itselectric is thrilled to launch in Detroit and positively impact its neighborhoods by bringing EV charging to the city through itselectric’s innovative model of providing and installing public EV chargers at no cost to building owners or the City of Detroit. itselectric’s first Detroit properties to receive these chargers will be IBEW Local 58 Headquarters (1358 Abbott St.), Dutch Girl Donuts (19000 Woodward Ave.), The Schvitz (8295 Oakland Ave), Lager House (1234 Michigan Ave.), and in front of 7630 Kipling Ave. Chargers will be rolled out for public use beginning in Spring of 2024. itselectric provides small-footprint, design-centered, Level-2 charging posts and is the only curbside charging network that offers revenue sharing to property owners. Once a property is deemed eligible, at no cost to the property owner, itselectric installs and maintains a low-profile charger and shares proceeds with the property owners. With this business model, itselectric helps cities meet their carbon reduction targets and reduces governments’ capital expenditures by completely avoiding the utility infrastructure upgrades normally needed to support public charging. Building owners and drivers who would like to see a charger on their block can express interest by joining itselectric’s waitlist .