Originally scheduled to open in 2021, the Robinson Recharge Mobility Hub is expected to open in December 2022 with six of 20 EV charging dispensers.
The opening of OUC’s Robinson Recharge Mobility Hub, once scheduled for 2021, is now on track for December 2022. Announced in October 2020, the downtown Orlando project has experienced material and labor shortages and unexpected changes to the original design plan. To mitigate the impact of supply chain disruptions, the site was redesigned to make available by December 2022 the first six of 20 electric vehicle (EV) high-speed charging dispensers. The remaining 14 are scheduled to be operational by summer 2023.
OUC worked with Power Electronics, the charging dispenser manufacturer and partner in the project, to address ongoing supply chain issues that led to changing the specifications of the hub’s charging units. The site is now expected to offer six, 240 kilowatt (kW) and 14, 120kW chargers instead of two, 350kW and 18, 150kW dispensers. The change may add up to six minutes to the time it takes to charge an EV battery to give it 100 miles of range.
The hub is under construction on Robinson Street, located between I-4 and the SunRail train tracks.
Meanwhile, OUC has secured a grant to develop a second site for high-speed EV charging in Orlando. Located in an open-access space east of the Orange County Convention Center South Concourse parking lot, the hub is expected to initially include three dual 240kW dispensers but could add as many as 12 Level 2 chargers in the future. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has approved a grant of up to $500,000 to offset a portion of the cost of dispensing equipment that will be used at the site, which is scheduled to open in summer 2023.
OUC is interested in building six more charging hubs by 2025 in an effort to encourage increased EV ownership and reduce CO2 emissions.
