Rivian fully supports the installation of electric vehicle chargers in US nature parks, which is why it joined forces with the state of Michigan and a nonprofit organization called Adopt a Charger. Together they want to build or upgrade charging points in state parks along the shore of Lake Michigan to bring them up to the Rivian Waypoint standard, which basically means they offer Level 2 charging.
Apparently some 15 such Rivian Waypoints are already up and running and the network was officially launched with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attending the event held at Holland State Park, at one of the locations where a new charging station was added. She is quoted as saying
This partnership to install charging stations in our state parks speaks to the collaborative approach we are taking to grow our economy and address climate change head-on through clean, reliable energy.
These charging stations along the Lake Michigan EV Circuit build on our rich Pure Michigan tradition of exploration and bringing together communities and businesses to ensure that we honor our past as the place that put the world on wheels and continue to invest in our workforce as we lead the transition to electric vehicles.
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The plan is to have 30 Rivian Waypoints operational along the coast in order to create a Lake Michigan EV Circuit that will help fill important gaps in the EV charging network that’s already in place in the area. Another goal is to allow visitors to drive their electric vehicles from one state park to another and have the possibility to charge in a more remote place.
Rivian wants to install 10,000 Waypoint charging stations in both the United States and Canada, although it doesn’t just want to install them in remote places. All these will be Level 2 stations that will provide no more than 11.5 kW charging speed; they are all equipped with J1772 plugs, so they can provide power to a very wide range of EVs, not just Rivians.
The manufacturer also wants to set up its own fast charging network too, the Rivian Adventure Network, spread across North America. It wants to have 600 sites operational by the end of 2023, providing some 3,500 individual chargers. In 2021, Rivian said its fast chargers will be initially provide 200 kW, then eventually they will be upgraded to over 300 kW.
The electricity that’s available at these chargers should also be from 100 percent renewable sources, which Rivian wants to achieve through partnering up with green electricity providers, although in its official blurbs it says it will try to stick to this principle “wherever possible.”
