himmelstrider t1_j0jepck wrote on December 17, 2022 at 2:19 AM

Big Oil is not, really, Oil. They're simply companies working with energents, and it just so happens they made a killing off oil, as it was used for the past century in large quantities, and it's a relatively high margin stuff.

As fossil fuel slowly shows signs of slowing down, smart companies are starting to invest in the next thing, because the need for energents is never going away, it's just switching types.

Besides, what is the alternative? Small, neighborhood, family owned charging station? Infrastructure laid out by volunteers? It literally can't work, there will be basically the same players that do gas stations now, they will be doing charging stations, we'll just have the ability to charge at home now.

TerpenesByMS t1_j0k9mho wrote on December 17, 2022 at 7:34 AM

Restaurants as competitors makes a lot of sense. Most EVs take longer to charge than fuel filling, but plug it in while you eat lunch or dinner and its charged when you're done? That's appealing.

himmelstrider t1_j0kh7ld wrote on December 17, 2022 at 9:18 AM

Well I'm not sure how is shit set up in US, but over here in Europe, on highways, it's basically just gas stations along the way. Nearly all of them have restaurants and cafés, and some of them have some pretty damn incredible restaurants.

And let's not forget one thing... It requires a very sizeable investment. Kind of which doesn't happen by a restaurant, not normally. Realistic expectation, at best, is for a restaurant to make a deal with energy company to have a few of their chargers in front - they get to charge for stations, restaurant gets business while charging.

JoshSimili t1_j0koux2 wrote on December 17, 2022 at 11:08 AM

Along highways, yes I can see the existing highway rest stops changing from being focused on a gas station to being centered around charging stations.

But within urban areas, I think the existing gas stations will simply vanish. There's no way they can compete against charging at home or while your car is parked and you're going shopping or working.

I think the real issue is how exactly we will get such a large amount of electrical power out to gas stations along remote stretches of highway in order to power the charging stations. Especially if heavy trucks are going to be charging there too. Each rest stop will basically need its own substation.

TerpenesByMS t1_j0mcygb wrote on December 17, 2022 at 7:33 PM

For trucks I can see energy supply expansion being a significant hurdle, but for most passenger cars the energy draw won't need massive rapid upgrades.

Really this whole shift is happening pretty gradually, so paced-out upgrades and energy company planning all come into play.

TerpenesByMS t1_j0mcrga wrote on December 17, 2022 at 7:31 PM

It's ultimately a real estate infrastructure play, like you say. Restaurants have real estate not currently used for recharging cars, but where customers naturally appear, sp the play is obvious. You're probably right about structuring: energy company installs a "vending machine" and the restaurant gets a cut for the place and the customer draw.

Severe_Method3137 t1_j0lfitv wrote on December 17, 2022 at 3:38 PM

Or restaurants and energy companies forming partnerships. Restaurant provides a draw, energy company handles charging, restaurant gets a piece of the pie and the energy company gets paid.

Kvenner001 t1_j0ljmqy wrote on December 17, 2022 at 4:08 PM

And when the refineries stop being profitable they’ll dump them on some dumb investors that think oil is still viable. They’ll shift to whatever energy medium that is current to maintain the stranglehold they have. They’d be dumb not to.