Dive Brief:
- Voltpost — a company retrofitting electric vehicle chargers in existing infrastructure like utility poles — told ESG Dive it has received a grant from the District of Columbia to expand public EV charging access.
- Voltpost is one of three awardees of the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment grant, along with It’s Electric and PowerUp America, DOEE confirmed to ESG Dive Tuesday. The $609,500 grant is distributed among the three companies, the agency said.
- Voltpost CEO Jeff Prosserman said that the funding will support the installation of up to 16 pole-mounted EV charging stations around the district. By updating existing infrastructure, Voltpost is able to “significantly reduce the costs, the timing and physical footprint of charging deployment in the built environment,” Prosserman said in an interview last week.
Dive Insight:
Voltpost was launched in 2021 and is headquartered in New York City, where it first recognized that a lack of access to convenient and affordable charging was preventing people from switching from gas to electric, its CEO said. Following a pilot deployment in the city, the company expanded to Detroit before its first public commercial deployments in Illinois.
Voltpost currently offers level 2 EV chargers, which operate on a 240-volt power supply and provide a faster charging speed than standard outlets.
The company now operates in New York, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, California and D.C., and Prosserman said there are “a few more states soon to be announced.” The smaller footprint required for the retrofits saves “tens of thousands dollars” on each project and location compared to traditional EV chargers, according to the CEO.
“When you're deploying a traditional charger … you have significant upfront construction, and trenching costs tied to the deployment,” Prosserman said. “By retrofitting what's already there in the built environment, we can either pull the cable through the existing conduit — a single cable bundle to provide the interconnection and turn the charger on — or drop the power down when it's overhead, like a utility pole for example, and by doing that, we can cut out that expensive construction and trenching process.”
DOEE opened up an application for the public EV charging grants last August, and DOEE Policy Analyst Mel Hogg said in an email that “Voltpost’s proposal stood out for their unique pole-mounted charger design, competitive deployment costs and the option to include carshare charging in their installations.”
“Pole-mounted EV charging with a retractable cord presents an opportunity to build quickly and cost effectively, preserving coveted curbside space and reducing vandalism from cord cutting.” Hogg said in response to questions. “As the District expands on-street charging, the city is eager to trial different types of chargers to understand their benefits and drawbacks.”
Voltpost is still consulting with local utility Pepco, the District Department of Transportation and DOEE to determine the locations of the 16 chargers it will deploy as a part of the new grant. The installed chargers will “prioritize locations in areas with less EV charging and near existing community anchors, such as libraries, parks, and recreation centers,” Hogg said.
"By retrofitting what's already there in the built environment . . . we can cut out that expensive construction and trenching process.”
Jeff Prosserman
Voltpost CEO
Voltpost was originally awarded a Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant — created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — to deploy charging stations in the nation’s capital. But the funding was frozen by the Trump administration last year, along with the $5 billion set aside by the IIJA for a National EV Infrastructure program, Prosserman said. A judge ruled in January that the freeze was unlawful and the Department of Transportation must release the funds.
The climate tech startup had been awarded three federal projects that were frozen last year, which disrupted the company’s 2025 plans, according to its CEO. The frozen funding slowed the company’s growth, but also required it to become a more “capital efficient business,” and now, “the dust has started to settle,” Prosserman said. He said others in the industry were forced to shutter or leave the U.S. market altogether.
“In short, [the funding freezes] slowed growth and created uncertainty for investors in this sector,” Prosserman said.
The Voltpost CEO said the company sees this grant as “a stepping stone project” as it is seeing more states build out the EV infrastructure necessary to unlock NEVI funding. While the company is looking to accelerate D.C.’s switch from gas to electric by increasing charger access, it will also be monitoring the performance and utilization of its hardware on a per charger basis.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Prosserman said. “There are companies like Voltpost that are charging forward in spite of some of the challenges from the last 15-16 months and delivering on the infrastructure that this country needs.”
