NEVI Or Not, New Off-Grid EV Chargers Spell Doom For Diesel Fuel

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Last Updated on: 1st July 2025, 06:28 pm

US President Donald Trump suspended the NEVI program for new EV charging stations earlier this year. Now a judge has ruled that the program must go forward. Even without NEVI, though, clever new startups are bringing more charging stations to more drivers. That includes heavy duty fleet vehicles, helping to make zero emission mobility a more attractive for fleet owners looking to ditch diesel.

New EV Charging Station Bumps Diesel Off The Map

The latest EV charging solution to hit the road comes from the California-based global hardware firm L-Charge in partnership with the software provider Epic Charging.

The two partners are pitching their transportable EV fast charging station to property owners with some extra room in their parking lots, including motels, hotels, restaurants, and concert venues.

In years past, installing a new EV fast charging station typically meant a sizable investment in new electrical infrastructure along with trenching work, permit requirements, a long pre-planning period, and a potentially long wait before a grid connection is available.

Some startups have figured out a workaround consisting of EV fast charging in tandem with battery storage. Instead of sucking electricity straight from the grid to service impatient EV drivers, the charger-plus-battery suite recharges itself whenever grid conditions are optimal, enabling drivers to get a fast charge off the battery at their convenience.

Another option is to provide the charging station with its own fuel for a completely independent experience, eliminating the need for any grid connection at all. The FIA-endorsed Extreme E racing series, for example, has deployed hydrogen fuel cell-enabled transportable charging stations. Designed for remote use, the charging stations can make their own green hydrogen on site from sunlight and water.

Off-Grid EV Charging: Say Goodbye To Diesel Fuel

L-Charge has pursued the off-grid option. Its transportable chargers run on generators that use various types of gas including RNG (renewable natural gas), and flare gas.  In a press release earlier this year, L-charge noted that conventional gas and hydrogen are also in play.

I’ve reached out to the company for some additional details about their fuel sources and emissions controls. Of note, the retail locations involved in the Epic Charging partnership are just part of the company’s business model. L-Charge also lists construction, agriculture, and school bus fleets among its target markets, indicating a focus on pushing diesel fuel out of those sectors.

As noted by L-Charge, fleet owners can use their property to provide its off-grid charging stations for the general public as well as their own fleets and clients. “In a hybrid-use deployment, L-Charge’s off-grid chargers were installed in a matter of days at a location with no existing grid connection,” L-Charge explains. “The site now serves both fleet vehicles and the public, illustrating how one installation can serve multiple needs and get diesel vehicles off the road without waiting for utility upgrades.”

That’s not a complete solution in terms of overall decarbonization, but it does offer heavy-duty fleets a rapid. pathway to on site electrification, while providing workers and community residents with relief from diesel emissions at the tailpipe.

EV Charging, Coming Soon To A Tire Shop Near You

As for retail locations characterized by non-diesel traffic, the emissions tradeoff would manifest over time as the growing convenience of EV charging motivates more EV-curious drivers to make the switch. L-Charge and Epic cite a leading auto parts retailer among the first of their joint clients, with more than 1,100 locations in 37 states, red and blue alike. On-site EV charging adds another dimension to its driver services.

“L-Charge and Epic Charging allow us to expand our services quickly without waiting on the grid or taking on major capital investment,” the retailer explained in a press statement. “We can now offer EV charging to both public and our own fleet customers using the space we already have, turning our depots into more versatile, revenue-generating locations.”

Who’s Gonna Pay For All This?

To ice the EV charging cake, L-charge offers a site evaluation and a trial use period.  The L-Charge business model is also a charging-as-a-service system, requiring no money up front from the property owner.

The partnership with Epic also enables L-Charge to provide both property owners and drivers with a seamless payment model, similar to the experience that motorists expect when they pull up at a gas station. In other words, no clunky series of window to open on your smart phone. “Users can easily locate, start, and pay for a charging session using Epic’s mobile app or Payter credit card readers without any app download or account setup,” the partners explain.

NEVI Or Not, Here Comes Vehicle Electrification

The NEVI saga is a bit wonky for those of you new to the topic, but it’s worth going over latest development for some further insights into the EV fast charging situation in the US.

NEVI stands for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, launched during the Biden administration with $5 billion in funding carved out from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The aim was to provide states with federal grants to install new charging along major throughways, building a robust interstate network of EV fast chargers for long distance travel as well as shorter hops.

For various reasons, not all states obtained their fair share of the NEVI pot before Biden left office on January 20. Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump summarily suspended the program, Of course, that was illegal and unconstitutional — after all, the program was funded by an Act of Congress, not an executive order.

In addition, the EV charging cat was already out of the bag. By mid-February new private sector charging solutions were already beginning to emerge, including systems aimed at enabling retailers to gain new revenue from charging stations.

Regardless of the ongoing spurt of new charging station schemes in the US, the last time we checked an Act of Congress was an Act of Congress, and Trump has been holding up funds allocated by Congress for new EV fast charging stations. Earlier this year, sixteen states and Washington, DC sued to get their rightful allocations, and on June 25 a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must release most of the remaining funds (Washington and two of the states were not included in the ruling).

As reported by AP among other news organizations, the NEVI ruling will go into effect on July 2 — unless the Trump administration appeals, of course.

Photo (cropped): A new off-grid EV charging service aims to push diesel vehicles aside and generate new revenue for property owners, too (courtesy of L-Charge).