EV Connect at EVCS & Expo 2025: Shaping the Future of EV Charging Infrastructure
EV Connect recently attended the Electric Vehicle Charging Summit (EVCS) & Expo, North America's largest infrastructure event for transportation electrification. With 220 speakers, 65 sessions, and 240 exhibitors, this premier event brought together key players and innovative professionals to discuss the future of EV charging infrastructure. Here's our recap of this exciting two-day event that showcased the latest advancements in the industry.
Event Overview
The EVCS & Expo lived up to its reputation as the hub for EV charging innovation. Spanning March 26-27, 2025, the event featured comprehensive expo floor experiences, thought leading educational sessions, and invaluable networking opportunities.
The summit's focus on reliability, stability, operability, fleets, utility coordination, and technological innovation perfectly aligned with EV Connect's mission to provide cutting-edge EV charging solutions.
Key Insights and Trends
In our nearly constant engagement with attendees, our team observed several emerging trends in the EV charging industry that were highlighted throughout the summit:
Reliability really matters. As an industry, reliability has been an area of focus for years and we’re at the point in adoption where the rubber meets the road. Reliability is becoming table stakes, and companies need to work together to make reliability a reality. The EV charging hardware space continues to be competitive. It’s not just about speed in hardware anymore. It’s about them working for every car, innovating to keep up, quality, and unique ways to address the different markets within the United States.
Coopetition is alive and well in the industry. In order for the EV industry to continue its growth trajectory, it’s imperative for companies to work together.
The U.S. still has a long way to go to compete globally. China and Europe continue to lead the charge in the EV industry; both with their technological advancements and adoption. We need to continue our important, coopetitive, work to compete with the advancements they are making.
Speakers Spotlight
Charging as a Service (CaaS): Industry Insights from EV Connect's Jon Leicester
EV Connect's Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships, Jon Leicester, recently participated in an insightful industry panel discussing the growing Charging as a Service (CaaS) model. Joining Leicester were notable industry experts Peter Cohen (TeraWatt Infrastructure), Jesse White (ReliON Charging), and Raymond McSpirit (EV Recruitment).
Understanding CaaS
The panel provided clarity on what CaaS truly entails. In its simplest form, CaaS represents a fundamental shift from traditional ownership models to service-based approaches:
Traditional ownership requires companies to fully own and fund charging infrastructure through capital expenditure (CapEx).
CaaS model allows businesses to partner with third-party providers who handle deployment, maintenance, and operations while the business pays a predictable monthly fee through operational expenditure (OpEx).
Market Drivers Propelling CaaS Growth
Several key factors are accelerating adoption of the CaaS model across industries:
Financial predictability: Customers increasingly desire fixed, known costs for their EV charging programs.
Complexity management: As EV charging technology becomes more sophisticated, many businesses prefer to focus on their core operations while outsourcing charging management to specialized providers.
Fleet market expansion: The rapid growth in electric fleets is driving the outsourcing trend.
Industry evolution: The panel drew parallels to how fleet management models have evolved over time.
Comprehensive solutions: Customers value included Operations and Maintenance (O&M) within their service agreements.
The Critical Importance of Operations and Maintenance
The panel emphasized that successful EV charging programs must prioritize ongoing maintenance to meet driver expectations:
O&M was identified as both essential and challenging for CaaS providers
ReliON Charging highlighted their specialized O&M platform that:
Provides crucial visibility into infrastructure performance
Streamlines dispatch execution for maintenance needs
EV Connect's approach includes comprehensive O&M within our CaaS offerings, providing customers both financial predictability and reliability assurance
The discussion covered key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that define successful deployments
Panelists offered guidance on what customers should prioritize when evaluating O&M services
This panel discussion showcased how CaaS is transforming the EV charging landscape by allowing businesses to implement robust charging solutions without the complexity and capital requirements of traditional ownership.
Expo Highlights
The expansive expo hall showcased 240 exhibitors with innovative solutions for commercial and government organizations investing in EV infrastructure. Many of our friends were there, and we were happy to be able to speak with them about how we can continue to work together for our customers and drivers!
Hubject: plug n’ charge is starting to happen, and Hubject x EV Connect are here to lead the charge!
Zerova: a full sweet of reliable, use-case-specific hardware leads to better options for your specific use-case
Stable Auto: making money make sense, and Stable Auto increases your ROI without increasing your effort.
PowerCharge: industry standard hardware, from a company built to grow and partnered with EV Connect to provide a great driver experience.
Industry Partners: making charging happen across the country is a job for the professionals. That’s why we have partnered with the best in the biz to deliver reliable, smart EV charging for drivers in 50 states.
EV Connect's Contributions
As a leader in EV charging solutions with 15 years of industry experience, EV Connect showcased our comprehensive service platform that enables businesses to build, scale, and manage EV charging operations.
Our team highlighted:
White Label Platform - Our proven solution that helps charge point operators deliver a seamless EV charging experience with branded driver mobile apps and management portals, accelerating network growth with out-of-the-box features.
API Platform - Our flexible enterprise-scale platform that allows customization to create unique driver experiences, with features like pushing relevant coupons to drivers when they plug in and tying charging to loyalty programs.
Service Platform - Our comprehensive suite of tools that includes revenue optimization, advanced charger management, network software, and premium driver support.
Visitors to our booth were particularly interested in our Charging Network Operations Center (C-NOC) which provides real-time visibility of station health and performance with customized alerts and notifications to diagnose and solve issues faster.
Electrifying the Road Forward
The EVCS & Expo reinforced EV Connect's commitment to advancing EV charging infrastructure through innovation, partnerships, and customer-focused solutions. As the industry continues to evolve, we remain dedicated to providing flexible, reliable, and scalable EV charging platforms that meet the diverse needs of charge point operators, enterprise businesses, and service providers.
Don't miss our upcoming webinar on May 7th at 11 am PT, "Trump’s 100-Day Impact on the EV Industry," where top industry leaders, policy experts, and market analysts break down the administration’s actions, their consequences, and what comes next.
Want to learn more about EV Connect's comprehensive EV charging solutions? Contact us today!