- Rivian partnered with Ionna, the DC fast charging networked backed by several automotive heavyweights.
- For R1T and R1S owners, this means they'll be able to plug and charge seamlessly at Ionna Rechargeries.
Rivian owners are about to have an even easier time on their upcoming road trips.
The startup automaker has partnered with the nascent charging network Ionna to enable plug-and-charge functionality at those stations, reported by Tech Brew. This essentially means that drivers will just have to plug in, and the charging session will start automatically, as long as a payment method has been set up in the smartphone app.
Ionna is a new DC fast charging network backed by eight of the largest automakers in the world: BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Toyota. The charging consortium’s goal is to blanket the United States with 30,000 charging bays by 2030.
Currently, Ionna has 12 charging stations in the U.S. offering 400-kilowatt chargers with both Combined Charging System 1 (CCS1) and North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors. Some locations have restrooms, food and beverage amenities, and a full canopy, making them feel more like traditional gas stations than barebones EV chargers.
The fact that Rivian partnered with an up-and-coming charging network doesn’t mean the EV startup will abandon its own charging networks. The company runs the Rivian Adventure Network of DC fast chargers, as well as the Rivian Waypoints network of Level 2 chargers, which are slower.
“We continue to invest in the Rivian charging network and provide that seamless experience to our customers,” Wassym Bensaid, Rivian’s chief software officer, said yesterday at Tech Brew’s Power Shift event in New York City. “But then, in parallel, we are big believers in a seamless, open ecosystem. And we want to provide choices and options for our customers.”
Rivian’s software chief added that the Ionna partnership will follow a similar approach to the Tesla Supercharger integration, which offers a seamless digital experience from the vehicle, with access to live data and the ability to just plug in and charge. “Customers don’t need to think about it, it just works,” Bensaid said.
Last year, Rivian was one of the first non-Tesla automakers to gain access to the Supercharger network, which is widely regarded as the most reliable DC fast charging network in the United States. With a charging adapter, Rivian EV owners can plug into select Superchargers for a quick top-up on the road.
