Blink Charging Awarded Grant Funds for the Deployment of DC Fast Chargers at 25 Locations by the State of Florida
With a $12.5 million grant, Blink will create a robust network of 52 DC fast chargers along Florida’s major interstate highways and enhance resilience against natural disasters
Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK, BLNKW) (“Blink” or the “Company”), a leading owner, operator, and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and services, today announced that it has been awarded Phase 2 grants from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to deploy DC fast charging stations. The 25 sites, featuring a total of 52 DC fast chargers, will be located in high-traffic areas along Florida’s major interstate highways, increasing access to EV charging for residents and travelers and strengthening the state’s resilience measures. This project is designed to provide fast charging opportunities across the state’s evacuation routes in the event of natural disasters.
As the country looks to address the consequences of climate change and extreme weather, such as from hurricanes, new infrastructure powered by renewable energy is critical. Blink’s charging sites are intended to enhance the state’s resilience measures by increasing the availability and accessibility of its electric charging infrastructure at strategic site placements along Florida’s four main interstates on Routes 95, 75, 10 and 4. In addition, 23 of the charging stations deployed will include modular battery storage and solar canopies to further support the strength of the energy grid.
“As Miami continues to position itself as a national leader of electric vehicle and renewable energy infrastructure, we are delighted to have companies like Blink here in our backyard building towards a better tomorrow,” said Mayor Francis Suarez.
The objective of Phase 2 of the Florida DEP grants is to develop a robust network of DC fast charging infrastructure across the state’s interstate highway system. With funds available from the Volkswagen Settlement, Florida made $16 million available for a total of 32 proposed sites, with a maximum grant award of $500,000 per site, all of which were individually awarded. With 25 sites, Blink was awarded nearly 80 percent of all available sites, bringing the company’s total grant award up to $12.5 million.
“We are honored to have been awarded the majority of the Florida sites for DC fast charger deployments and to help our home state further bolster its reputation as a leader in EV adoption,” commented Michael D. Farkas, Founder & CEO Blink. “Minimizing barriers to EV charging is critical to increasing consumer adoption of EVs, and with 25 new sites across the state, we are continuing our mission to provide EV charging where and when drivers need it. As the EV market rapidly accelerates, we are continuing to expand our DC fast charging footprint across the nation to provide the fast charging infrastructure required for the electric mobility transformation.”
The grant award locations include agreements between Blink and consumer brands that will serve as site host partners. Each location will deploy two 175kW DC fast chargers and deployment will begin this fall.
ABOUT BLINK CHARGING
Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK, BLNKW) is a leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and has deployed over 30,000 charging ports in 13 countries, many of which are networked EV charging stations, enabling EV drivers to easily charge at any of the Company’s charging locations worldwide. Blink Charging’s principal line of products and services includes its Blink EV charging network (“Blink Network”), EV charging equipment, and EV charging services. The Blink Network uses proprietary, cloud-based software that operates, maintains, and tracks the EV charging stations connected to the network and the associated charging data. With global EV purchases forecasted to rise to 10 million vehicles by 2025 from approximately 2 million in 2019, the Company has established key strategic partnerships for rolling out adoption across numerous location types, including parking facilities, multifamily residences and condos, workplace locations, health care/medical facilities, schools and universities, airports, auto dealers, hotels, mixed-use municipal locations, parks and recreation areas, religious institutions, restaurants, retailers, stadiums, supermarkets, and transportation hubs. For more information, please visit https://www.blinkcharging.com/.