For those living in a metropolis, many of us have grown accustomed to the roaring symphony of car engines and the incessant scent of vehicle exhaust. However, across cities like LA, Chicago and New York, businesses are putting forth efforts to make our air cleaner and our roads quieter by deploying electric vehicle charging stations. As more drivers adopt eco-friendly transportation options, EVPassport is working to build the infrastructure that keeps them moving.
Co-founded by software veterans Hooman Shahidi and Aaron Fisher, EVPassport was created to solve a straightforward problem — how to make electric vehicle charging easier than getting gas. EV charging stations typically require prerequisites to use, like downloading an app, signing up for an account or having an access fob. EVPassport enables customers to start charging just by scanning a QR code.
“What I fundamentally believe in is that it’s really easy to make things complicated, but it’s really difficult to make things simple,” Shahidi, EVPassport’s president, told Built In. “And what we’ve mastered is we’ve simplified the process. We’ve been able to remove the economic and technological barriers to EV charging so that we can create the gateway to the mass adoption of electric vehicles and ultimately provide this necessary piece of infrastructure so that we can minimize our carbon footprint.”
Based in Venice, EVPassport provides companies with both hardware and software needed to implement its app-less, LTE-enabled charging stations. EVPassport’s solution provides open APIs, allowing businesses in different industries — from apartments and hotels to retail stores and restaurants — with a cloud-based solution that fits their particular needs.
EVPassport also ties in additional solutions with core software integrations like Google Maps, Apple Maps, ChargeHub and more. Using these tools, drivers can discover EVPassport charging locations via their usual GPS app, including map engines unique to a user’s vehicle. Users can also get real-time information on charger availability and pricing.
The entire driver process is meant to be quick and seamless. After scanning a station’s QR code, the encrypted microsite integrates with the user’s virtual wallet or credit card to initiate payments. EVPassport is in the midst of building out its integration offerings to include payment solutions such as Venmo and PayPal.
The company’s objective is to make charging stations easy to implement and easier for drivers to actually use. It strives to offer a charging solution that’s more affordable for businesses to deploy. With a network of almost 10,000 stations in places like Beverly Hills, Chicago and The Bronx, EVPassport is dedicated to removing barriers to what many consider to be a necessary piece of infrastructure.
“Part of the challenge of electrification is giving people access, giving them the tools so that they can go out and deploy these things,” Shahidi said. “And we’ve made it simple. We’ve made it reliable, and we’ve made it more than ever connected.”
Based on its growth to date, EVPassport’s customers share this sentiment. When the company launched in October of 2020, it recorded more than 400 percent overall growth within its first year. Currently spanning 24 states and three countries, EVPassport is gearing up to further this momentum. The company projects to grow by 244 percent this year, according to Shahidi.
The 40-person team is counting on filling new roles to help fuel that growth. EVPassport currently lists open positions for engineers, UX designers and more.
“Across the board nationally, we’ve passed 5 percent in [average] EV sales. I think the trend and the trajectory of the market for electric vehicle sales is very bullish and I think there’s strong tailwinds,” Shahidi said. “However, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done on the infrastructure. ... We need to deploy a lot of stations for this infrastructure to work if we want to get the mass adoption of electric vehicles by 2035.”
