Ionna, the emerging nationwide DC fast-charging network, recently held its first Media Day event at its headquarters in Durham, North Carolina, where it presented some of its grand plans and strategies.

The company’s top execs — Seth Cutler, CEO, Ricardo Stammati, CTO & CPO, Aaron Wolf, SVP of Strategic Partnerships, Daniel Bryant, SVP of Site Operations, and Phil Retsch, Chief Engineer of Charging Technology — presented all major areas of the charging network business, and answered interesting questions in the Q&A session.

Our very own Tom Moloughney attended Ionna’s first Media Day and recorded the entire presentation and discussion panel for State Of Charge‘s followers. It’s a full, unedited video detailing Ionna’s growth strategy, definitely worth watching for all those who are deeply interested in EV charging. State Of Charge plans to follow up with additional videos in the coming days, featuring interviews.

The Network

Ionna was founded by eight carmakers (BMW Group, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Toyota) with the goal of building a large DC fast-charging network for electric vehicles in North America (initially in the United States and later in Canada). The plan is to offer 30,000 stalls by 2030 and provide an elevated customer experience on various levels, including charger parameters, dependability, and amenities.

The network’s structure will rely on a few types of charging stations (Relay, Rechargery, and the recently introduced Beacon) to flexibly deploy the right solution at the right location.

For instance, in some locations, only charging with basic features is needed (the Rechargery Relay type). According to Ionna, the Relay sites are expected to represent only 20-30% of the network’s locations in the long term.

The primary station type will be Rechargeries. Some will be built entirely by Ionna (including amenities), and others will be built at a partner’s location (Rechargery @), where amenities are already available (Ionna only adds the charging component). The pinnacle of the charging experience with the best of everything is to be offered at Rechargery Beacons.

Types of Rechargeries one might expect to see on one’s travels. (Source: Ionna)

All Ionna sites will offer high-power chargers (400 kW, up to 1,000 volts) and support all EVs (CCS1 and NACS charging connectors). Depending on the location, there might be 8-20 or even more stalls (Beacons start at 20).

The bare minimum elements are: safe and well-lit charging areas, trash cans, and canopies wherever possible. Restrooms and amenities should be available nearby.

The Locations

Ionna carefully plans where and what type of stations should be deployed using advanced data analysis. It’s a crucial thing to know where EV chargers are actually needed. The company divided the rollout into phases. Depending on the local market, the charger might be installed to cover a particular metropolitan area or corridor (with vacation corridors as a subcategory).

The planning is followed by land purchase, which makes Ionna unique among charging networks today. Another option is long-term leasing. Purchasing the land opens the way to tailor the site to EV needs with a high degree of flexibility. Leasing is more difficult and time-consuming due to negotiations and sometimes brings constraints.

Pull-through stalls for vehicles with trailers (or large EVs) and canopies are examples of elements that can be deployed more easily when owning a parcel. In the Q&A session, Ionna said that there is no hard target for the pull-through stalls, but the intention is to have a significant portion of them in the network, although not necessarily at the beginning of the rollout.

Speaking of locations, Ionna also considers partnerships with large, high-quality networks like a restaurant chain, which, on the one hand, offers great locations and already built amenities, though the site layout may not always enable pull-through stalls or a canopy.

An Ionna DC fast-charging station. (Aource: Ionna)

Dependability

One of Ionna’s priorities is the high dependability of the network. This extends from a simple charger’s reliability. Everything must be reliable, and more importantly, if something happens, the network must be able to fix things fast, within hours.

This forces the implementation of scheduled site checks (at least once per week), remote diagnostics, and service teams and warehouses with spare parts. Ionna says that when all elements are combined, the uptime will be near perfect. It is already over 99%.

Chargers

Ionna is currently laser-focused on the network rollout using Alpitronic’s 400-kW all-in-one chargers. In the future, even more powerful chargers might be installed, or a distributed charging system (with one charging cabinet for multiple dispensers). However, as of today, the focus is on the streamlined rollout using hardware from a single supplier.

The focus is crucial for Ionna to achieve its intended goals — we will cover how fast the network is growing in a separate post. It’s worth noting that 500 stalls have already been installed at roughly 50 locations.

An Ionna DC fast-charging station. (Source: Ionna)

No App

As State Of Charge noted back in October, Ionna does not plan to have an app. That might change in the future, but having eight automakers as investors convinced the company to focus on its integration with existing apps, navigation systems, and other charging networks.

Drivers will be able to locate and use charging points using their existing EV app. More and more manufacturers also offer the Plug & Charge feature, which allows for automatic authorization and payment after plugging in.

The full functionality (displaying pricing, dynamic pricing, and discounts) is not yet implemented. In the coming months, Ionna plans to update its website to include pricing and continue to work with OEMs to offer discount programs. An announcement regarding this topic is expected in early 2026.

Profitability

A few questions in the Q&A session concerned profitability. Ionna appears confident about the EV market (despite the recent sales slowdown after the $7,500 federal tax credit ended) and notes that site utilization is already okay today.

To achieve profitability, the company prioritizes business efficiency, which keeps costs down. Additionally, Ionna avoids working on unnecessary things, and the app was mentioned as an example: Ionna’s investors (OEMs) already built their apps, so there is no point in the charging network duplicating this work.

The network will continue to expand fast. The scale also helps to lower the operating cost per stall. Another element is owning the land for the sites, which might unlock additional revenue streams (e.g., leasing for amenities).

At the end of the day, energy prices must be competitive. The presentation and discussion really show how complex and comprehensive it is to build a nationwide charging network. It’s not a simple installation of chargers. Actually, finding investors and installing chargers appears to be a piece of cake, considering how many other, more difficult aspects and issues must be solved to build and maintain a charging network.

Video timestamps:

0:01:59 Seth Cutler, CEO
0:03:55 Ricardo Stammati, CTO & CPO
0:22:44 Aaron Wolf, SVP of Strategic Partnerships
0:35:54 Daniel Bryant, SVP of Site Operations
0:39:55 Phil Retsch, Chief Engineer of Charging Technology
0:46:18 The Q&A session