EV Charging for Everyone

Charging stations for electric vehicles have a long way to go before they are as ubiquitous as gas stations. But Voltpost, a five-year-old startup cofounded by Luke Mairo ’17, wants to help close the gap. Voltpost makes charging ports that can be mounted on existing streetlights and utility poles within hours, saving the cost of constructing new installations, while making charging available to city-dwelling EV owners who lack the space for home setups. “We realized it was both an equity issue and a massive, largely unsolved market opportunity,” said Mairo, who studied business and financial analytics at BC before cofounding Voltpost. Drivers use an app to locate Voltpost chargers and unlock their charging cables. Voltpost isn’t the only company rolling out EV charging stations in urban areas, but its use of existing infrastructure like streetlights makes it novel. The company, which was recently named one of the most innovative companies of the year by Fast Company magazine, has projects installed or underway in seven states and Washington, DC, and said it plans to deploy thousands of chargers across the US. “Transportation electrification is genuinely one of the most important levers we have for reducing emissions and fighting climate change,” Mairo said. ◽