Electric vehicle charging company FLO is expanding curbside charging with a new project in Boston that will deploy FLO Core+ MAX Level 2 chargers throughout the city. This first phase of the project will include installing up to 120 FLO chargers at 30 sites in Boston, including many historically underserved communities with a prioritization for environmental justice communities.
“The FLO chargers in Boston will be located near parks, playgrounds, libraries and small businesses,” says Louis Tremblay, FLO president and CEO. “They will truly become part of the communities and will be critical as EV adoption grows in the city. All drivers deserve access to reliable home and home-alternative EV charging infrastructure. We need to pay particular attention to drivers living in urban, multi-family housing, who often face limited home charging options. This deployment will ensure curbside charging will be located where it is needed the most and bring cost savings and reliability benefits to more drivers.”
The project is part of the city of Boston’s initiative to have every resident live within a five-minute walk of an EV charging station. Better Together Brain Trust, or BT2, was selected by the city of Boston to install and maintain these city-owned stations. BT2 is a Black-, woman-owned business.
“It is critical that no one is left behind as we transition to net zero,” says Shonté Davidson, CEO of BT2. “This project has many goals, but two of the most critical are ensuring equitable access to EV charging benefits and understanding the communities’ views on charging. We are committed to using both our experience and local expertise to make both goals become a reality, and together with the city and FLO we are advancing a cleaner and more equitable future for all Bostonians.”
The Boston deployment will feature CoRe+ MAX chargers, which are assembled at FLO’s Auburn Hills, Michigan, facility. FLO’s CoRe+ MAX charger delivers a maximum power output of 19.2 kW, charges up to 2.7 times faster than a typical Level 2 charging station and delivers the most power available to a Level 2 charger.
“Prioritizing curbside EV charging stations is integral to urban planning as the number of EV drivers continues to rise,” adds Judith Gibson-Okunieff, Zero Emissions Vehicle Program manager, Boston Transportation Department. “By providing equitable access to charging infrastructure across all areas of the city, including historically underserved communities, Boston is leading the way in smart planning.”
Boston is the latest city to widely deploy FLO curbside chargers for residents. New York City, Los Angeles and Cleveland all have deployed FLO chargers to keep EVs charged and on the road.
FLO’s New York City deployment is used by residents of all five boroughs and maintains more than 99% uptime. In Los Angeles, more than 480 FLO chargers have been installed on utility light poles in a curbside charging project.