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Company: Volta Inc., San Francisco, CA
Nomination Submitted by: Goodman Media International
Company Description: Volta is building a network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers that can catalyze and accelerate the shift from combustion-powered miles to electric miles by providing inclusive, open, reliable, and affordable public charging that complements consumers' daily lives and routines – meeting people where they live, shop, work, and play.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Energy Industry Innovation of the Year
 Nomination Title: Accelerating an electric future through PredictEV®
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the achievements of the nominated organization since January 1 2020, OR written answers to the questions for this category? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
Volta is building a network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers that can catalyze and accelerate the shift from combustion-powered miles to electric miles by providing inclusive, open, reliable, and affordable public charging that complements consumers' daily lives and routines – meeting people where they live, shop, work, and play.
With high-impact, large-format digital screens, Volta stations double as an innovative, digital out-of-home advertising opportunity, allowing brands to reach shoppers seconds before they enter a store to make a purchase – simultaneously driving measurable business results and environmental impact. Brands that sponsor Volta stations include Netflix, Chase, Jeep, Starbucks, Hulu, FedEx, Chevrolet, Dunkin’, and many more.
For the commercial properties and retail locations Volta partners with – such as Amazon Fresh, Walgreens, Whole Foods, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and more – the eye-catching displays and premium charging stall locations help drive business by attracting loyal customers.
Volta is powered by best-in-class behavioral science and machine learning technology, allowing the company to deploy charging infrastructure intelligently and efficiently. By leveraging a data-driven understanding of driver behavior to deliver seamless EV charging solutions, Volta’s unique charging stations connect clean miles to commerce – benefitting people and businesses.
Volta was founded over a decade ago to accelerate our transition to a regenerative energy economy. Since then, the company’s founding belief has remained unchanged: EV charging needs to work both today – before EVs are on the road, fostering demand through visible public infrastructure – and into the future, as the larger transition unfolds.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Briefly describe the nominated organization: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 200 words used.
The transition to electric transportation is one of the largest macroeconomic shifts of the century. Yet if society’s goal is to fully decarbonize transportation, then the shift to electric mobility has to be an equitable and inclusive – but today, access to charging is too sparse in historically underserved communities.
To fuel this equitable and inclusive transition, Volta believes infrastructure needs to be fundamentally re-imagined. Soon, we will no longer go out of the way to fuel at a gas station, but instead fuel at the places we already go. Volta was founded over a decade ago with the mission of building a seamless, universal, and reliable electric vehicle (EV) charging stations – centered on consumer behavior – meeting people where they live, shop, work, and play. How Volta built this network is where our differentiation lies.
Volta’s intelligent charging network is AI and machine learning-powered, with the ability to predict and plan for charging needs in communities of all kinds. Volta is already working with utilities across the country to plan for future charging infrastructure – with an eye toward underserved communities. In 2020, Volta, Inc. listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: VLTA) and experienced massive growth.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Outline the organization's achievements since the beginning of 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 234 words used.
Access to EV charging infrastructure is the “chicken and egg” problem that continues to deter individuals from going electric. President Biden’s administration plans to invest billions in EV infrastructure, but this major investment requires a multi-faceted approach to be the most effective. Volta’s data-driven understanding of driver behavior and determination to deploy charging stations efficiently and equitably is what led the company to formally launch its cutting-edge software product PredictEV® in 2021– offering a new, innovative approach to solving the macroeconomic puzzle of infrastructure deployment.
PredictEV® analyzes local mobility, demographic, business, and site-specific data to identify key planning drivers such as suitable vehicle charging locations, the right mix of charging infrastructure and expected EV adoption in a particular geography. Backed by advanced AI and real charging network data, PredictEV® is available to corporations, state and local governments, Departments of Transportation, and electric power utilities responding to the increase in EV adoption and working to support transportation electrification within their jurisdictions.
It is a costly mistake if unused charging stations become what is known as “stranded assets” – maximizing their potential use is vital to building an electric future that works for all of us. Volta’s PredictEV® tool is revolutionary in that it allows EV stakeholders optimize their decision-making process and reshape their transportation infrastructure by predicting where scaling consumer demand will be, and when – a highly specific and valuable business problem to solve.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 246 words used.
EV adoption has reached a critical tipping point, and building out a nationwide charging infrastructure is necessary to enable mass adoption of electric transportation. PredictEV® is designed to help key EV stakeholders understand and plan for future EV adoption and charging demand in the communities they serve.
What makes PredictEV® especially unique is its holistic approach to the planning process. The product analyzes not just the effect on the electrical grid but also the economic, health, and environmental benefits that EV charging will have on the community. The tool is also tuned to assess equitable access to charging in support of the Biden administration’s Justice40 initiative.
One example is Volta’s work with Alabama Power, an electric utility serving 1.4 million customers, to better understand the impact of EVs on the Alabama communities they serve, both from an economic perspective (i.e. local economic growth due to EV charging) and societal benefits (local communities’ health and wellbeing).
The partnership proved so successful that Alabama Power’s parent company, Southern Company, the second largest utility company in the U.S., expanded its agreement with Volta in 2021 to include Georgia Power and Mississippi Power.
As more and more attention is placed on the equitable distribution of charging stations across communities of all kinds, PredictEV® can recommend the right set of charging solutions to improve equity and access. Ultimately, PredictEV® was designed with Volta’s overarching goal in mind – to bring about meaningful, positive change within the communities nationwide.
- You have the option to answer this final question: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 102 words used.
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