U.S. electric vehicle charging startup Voltpost has opened its first publicly accessible lamppost charging station in Oak Park, Illinois, marking a significant milestone in its plan to deploy 10,000 on-street chargers by 2030.
The New York-based company retrofitted a traditional streetlight in the suburban Chicago village with its modular Level 2 charging platform, designed for local residents and aimed at expanding affordable and convenient curbside charging access.
âOur solution allows communities to quickly install EV chargers in as little as one to two hours, with minimal disruption and reduced costs,â said Voltpost CEO Jeffrey Prosserman. âThe deployment of a Voltpost charger in Oak Park will expand EV charging access for the local community and help catalyze the transition to sustainable transportation.â
The Voltpost system features either two or four charging ports per installation, a mobile app interface, and illuminated 20-foot cables to improve usability. The installation in Oak Park was made possible through a partnership between the Park District of Oak Park and utility provider ComEd, highlighting the importance of public-private collaboration for future rollouts.
âEnsuring the residents of Oak Park benefit from affordable access to EV charging infrastructure is vital to fulfilling our commitment to serving the needs of our community,â said Kassie Porreca, President of the Park District Board of Commissioners. âWe are happy to collaborate with Voltpost and ComEd to provide convenient curbside charging infrastructure that will improve village life.â
Voltpostâs latest deployment builds on earlier pilots in New York and Michigan, where the company installed chargers on lampposts in transportation department car parks. Similar retrofitting projects are underway globally, with firms like Ubitricity and char.gy expanding lamppost-based EV charging in the UK, and Pragueâs municipal authorities testing large-scale deployment across the city.