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Seattle-based Electric Era, a provider of battery-integrated electric vehicle charging solutions, has completed a rapid 54-day installation of six premium charging stalls at a Costco Wholesale warehouse in Northport, Florida. Each stall offers 200 kW capacity, capable of achieving an 80% state of charge within 20 to 60 minutes on average. The installation began with a contract agreement on April 7, 2025, permit submission by April 18, equipment arriving at the site in mid-May, and final completion—including construction, testing and inspection—by May 30, 2025.

Electric Era reports its expedited deployment timeline was possible due to its patented battery-backed architecture, which reduces peak grid input power requirements and installation complexity. According to the company, this technology reduces grid power consumption by up to 70%. Additionally, Electric Era manages engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and deployment processes internally, further contributing to shorter installation timelines.

The installed solution in Northport features three charger units, each equipped with one CCS and one NACS cable. Electric Era’s system includes a proprietary operating system designed to integrate directly into retailers’ existing IT infrastructures, including point-of-sale, loyalty, and CRM systems. Chargers are fitted with customizable 32-inch touchscreen displays allowing retailers to extend branding, promotions, loyalty programs, and personalized customer experiences directly to EV drivers outside the store.

“Our retail customers don’t want their lots torn up for years, they want fast, reliable EV charging systems to help them grow their business and boost their bottom line,” said Quincy Lee, CEO at Electric Era. “Because we manage the process from start to finish in-house, we’re able deliver a significantly more efficient process across the board and complete deployments at a fraction of the time it takes other EV charger manufacturers.”

Electric Era also stated that the speed of its installations helps retailers leverage federal and state EV infrastructure grants by eliminating the need for utility upgrades and simplifying project design, execution, and approval processes.

The company says its EV charging solutions currently achieve 98.5% per-port uptime and greater than 90% session reliability. Electric Era further provides automatic fault detection with remote over-the-air updates, significantly reducing operational disruptions, and maintains a 96% positive driver rating on PlugShare, meeting qualification criteria for the Tesla Third Party Charging program.

Source: Electric Era

Austria-based HAINZL Motion & Drives has partnered with Vanguard, the commercial applications brand of engine maker Briggs & Stratton, to provide tailor-made electric drive solutions for mobile machinery.

The partnership brings together Vanguard’s industrial-grade battery systems and the electric and electrohydraulic concepts of HAINZL Motion & Drives.

At customer M.A.H-Holzinger, the companies replaced an outdated diesel-hydraulic system with a fully electric solution featuring permanently installed Vanguard 48 V, 5 kWh batteries as part of an initial joint project. This has resulted in lower noise and higher efficiency.

TECHNOTRADE, HAINZL’s subsidiary in the Czech Republic, brings additional synergies to the partnership. TECHNOTRADE is already a technology partner of Vanguard and brings experience in the implementation of electrified systems.

Source: HAINZL Motion & Drives

Electric motor supplier Turntide Technologies has expanded its Gen 6 Inverter range, which offers high performance and flexibility in a compact form factor. The company has also added EVR Motors as a Turntide Turnkey Solutions partner in order to offer integrated, end-to-end systems for OEMs.

Turntide Gen 6 inverters deliver high power density and high-voltage performance ranging from 48 V, 450 A up to 80 V, 700 A. The power and form factor allow a motor to operate efficiently across a wide range of voltages and currents, minimizing energy loss, optimizing vehicle and machine performance and extending battery range. Applications include two- and three-wheel vehicles, material handling equipment and any low-voltage electrification needs.

EVR’s TS-RFPM motor technology enables compact and light motors that can be tailored to user requirements. EVR’s lineup of motors, from 6 kW to 150 kW, complements Turntide’s next-generation inverters.

Multiple customers are using or evaluating the combined solutions from Turntide and EVR Motors, including OEMs in Japan and North America.

For instance, RISE Robotics has developed its Beltdraulic System for industrial and off-highway applications. The system combines EVR’s compact, high-efficiency 160 mm radial flux motor with Turntide’s Gen 6, Size 4 48 V inverter—offering a scalable electric alternative to traditional hydraulics. By leveraging the compact motor’s high torque density, RISE has eliminated the need for a gearbox, reducing weight and system cost.

US-based electric dirt bike manufacturer DUST Moto has integrated Turntide’s Gen 6 80 V inverter with EVR’s 185 mm air-cooled motor to enable its DUST Moto bikes to reach up to 30 kW of peak power, delivering high speed and torque in demanding off-road environments.

“In today’s competitive market, OEMs can’t afford delays. The faster they can launch, the faster they can lead,” said Ryan Grodzki, VP, Strategic Partnerships, Turntide. “We are enabling OEMs to seamlessly complete electrification systems to bring efficient products to market more quickly.”

Source: Turntide Technologies

The State of California has awarded $500 million for educational agencies to buy electric school buses and chargers.

The Zero-Emissions School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) project has selected 133 educational agencies to receive 1,000 school buses and related charging infrastructure. The grants are expected to be finalized by the end of the year.

The incentive program is a collaboration between the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC). It is administered by nonprofit transportation organization CALSTART.

In California, all school bus purchases made by school districts will need to use zero-emission technology by 2035. Frontier local educational agencies in rural communities have an extension until 2045.

California has provided more than $1.3 billion in incentives to school districts to date, funding more than 2,300 school buses, of which 1,100 are already in use. More than 300 California school districts and local education agencies have purchased at least one zero-emission school bus, and a few have made the switch to a 100% clean fleet.

Awardees receive up to $375,000 to replace internal combustion engine (ICE) school buses, in addition to awards up to $95,000 per school bus to purchase and install associated charging infrastructure. Awardees are required to scrap an old internal combustion engine school bus for every new school bus purchased.

Priority for the funding was given to small or rural school districts, as well as local educational agencies that have a large proportion of students who receive free or reduced-price meals, are in foster care, or are English-language learners. Local educational agencies located in low-income or disadvantaged communities received secondary priority.

“California has set important benchmarks for removing internal combustion vehicles from our roads and replacing them with clean transportation,” said CEC Chair David Hochschild. “CEC is helping school districts move in that direction by funding ZESBI.”

Source: California Air Resources Board