Rivian has big plans to expand its EV charging network

Given the poor status of third-party charging, Rivian is constructing a proprietary fast-charge network quickly and will make it available to the public as early as next year, company executives claimed. 

In many ways, Rivian is imitating Tesla, which grew its Supercharger network into the most extensive and dependable network of fast charges in the U.S. Tesla started allowing non-Tesla vehicles on its network back in February. 

According to CEO RJ Scaringe, the Rivian Adventure Network now uses DC chargers at 30 locations, and the EV manufacturer has hundreds more in preparation. These chargers were created and manufactured at the Rivian Adventure Network’s Normal, Illinois, plant.

“We made the decision to develop our own infrastructure after realizing that there had been significant underinvestment in charging infrastructure,” Scaringe said. The density of Rivian chargers, he adds, “will really help solve a lot of these core issues, and we’ll see third-party networks start to build up as well.”

Scaringe didn’t provide a date for the company’s network’s launch, just noting, “We’re going to open it up.” 

According to EVAdoption CEO Loren McDonald, in a few years, the Rivian Adventure Network could join Tesla, Electrify America, EVgo, and ChargePoint as the fifth-largest charging network.

On the other hand, by committing to make 3,500 of its Superchargers publicly accessible by the end of 2024, Tesla is qualified to apply for federal tax credits to fund the construction of charging stations. About 17,000 fast chargers are presently available throughout the United States, and Tesla, which opened a modest number of Superchargers to all EVs in February, aims to treble that number in the next two years.