By Logan Krum
If you drive an electric vehicle in Northeast Philadelphia, chances are you’ll have to plot your course carefully. With only 10 public chargers located across all neighborhoods, there are significant stretches (some with 4-plus miles between them) without a publicly available charger.
While EV infrastructure is more accessible in neighborhoods like Center City, the city is still a few years out from fully embracing the movement. But just because the city isn’t at the forefront of EV progress doesn’t mean Ray McSpirit and EV Recruitment can’t build toward a better EV future from within the city.
McSpirit is the founder of EV Recruitment, a worldwide talent sourcing agency that connects top global talent with the organizations that are moving the EV and transportation energy industries forward. Headquartered in Fishtown, EV Recruitment has filled 550-plus positions that contribute to all aspects of the electric transportation industry, from battery technology to vehicle assembly and beyond.
The company has a mission to build a better, more sustainable future for everyone by helping electric transportation companies scale and innovate.
“For each placement we make, we improve the positioning of our clients for the betterment of society,” McSpirit said.
EV Recruitment’s team of experts each specialize in specific parts of the value chain that contribute toward electric transportation, including mechanical and industrial engineering and EV charging. McSpirit built the team to represent all major areas needed to move the entire industry forward.
“When the public thinks of the EV market, they think of Tesla and the major manufacturers making the end product,” McSpirit said. “Where in fact, most of the innovation and contributions that are going to drive a clean future are developed throughout various areas of the value chain that don’t get enough spotlight.”
Take a look under the hood of an EV and there are hundreds of components and subassemblies that go into building both the vehicles and the infrastructure needed to support them. That public-supporting infrastructure, including chargers and the software needed to operate them, has to be set in place to allow for widespread EV adoption.
McSpirit strives to support organizations in any area of the clean energy electrification space, including companies that work in level 2 and 3 EV Charging, CaaS, battery storage, fleet operators, manufacturers, engineering services and CMs.
Infrastructure like this can’t be developed overnight. It requires a blend of technology, policy, investment, foreign affairs and more entities to make advancements.
While west coast states like California, Washington and Oregon have proven to be early adopters and have the highest rates of EV usage, Pennsylvania currently sits around the middle of the list, with 135.22 registered EVs per 200,000 residents — a number that is rapidly increasing year over year.
In Philadelphia specifically, there were approximately 11,000 registered EVs in the city as of September, or 1.3% of all vehicles. The Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems recently put out a call for companies to submit proposals on curbs and in parking lots around the city.
While this indicates good things to come for EV drivers, finding public charging may be challenging for the time being. There are 145 publicly available charging stations in the city (with 378 charging ports), a good portion of which are clustered in Center City. Unless drivers have a private charger installed on their own property, finding reliable charging can be an obstacle. For comparison, there are approximately 411 gas stations in Philadelphia with numerous pumps.
In Northeast Philadelphia, the numbers are dire. Chargefinder, which maps public charging stations, displays a measly 10 public stations available across all Northeast Philadelphia ZIP codes. Two are located at Roosevelt Mall, but an EV driver would have to head 2 miles south to find another at the former Walgreens parking lot at 1607 Bridge St. in Frankford, or 4.4 miles north to find one at Red Lion Plaza. A driver heading east or west from the mall would have to traverse to Bensalem or Huntingdon Valley, respectively, to find the next closest public charger.
McSpirit attributes Philadelphia’s lagging adoption to the cost that comes with equipping neighborhoods with the public charging and other equipment needed for convenient and sustainable EV use, as well as the higher prices of EVs compared to typical gas cars.
For McSpirit, building a better EV future goes beyond sourcing talent. Last year, he hosted an EV summit in the city to gather the local community and professionals in engineering, battery recycling, city officials and more to discuss challenges and make advancements in bringing EV infrastructure to the city.
McSpirit is also involved in Young Professionals in Energy Philadelphia where he will mentor the next generation of talent entering the energy industry. The organization provides networking and development opportunities in the local and global energy industry. ••
