Your guide to the Blink EV charging network

Blink is a company that contributes to the EV infrastructure from the ground up. Charging stations on the Blink network are designed, manufactured, owned and operated by the company. Blink also develops chargers for home use, available through Amazon, Best Buy, and other retailers. Most of Blink’s chargers, including its public charging stations and the Blink HQ 200 designed for home charging, are level two chargers, although there are some DC fast charging stations available on the Blink network.

The company has been around since 2009 and during that time has built and installed more than 51,000 chargers around the world. The company’s public charging network in the US has about 5,000 public chargers, with more in a total of 25 countries. The company has more than 423,000 members who have signed up to use the Blink network.

The company is headquartered in Amsterdam, with US operations in Miami Beach, FL. Global manufacturing of Blink hardware takes place in the United States, India, and Taiwan. Blink is a publicly traded company.

As of September 2022, there were 1,606 Blink EV stations in the United States representing 49 states and territories and 676 cities. Please note that this represents individual locations, not individual chargers. While most Blink stations have fewer than five chargers, some have more than five, most commonly in major coastal cities. Unsurprisingly, California has the most Blink stations of any state in the country, with 234, or about 15% of the total US Blink network. Texas and Florida are second and third with more Blink chargers. Seven US states and territories do not have Blink stations: Alaska, Maine, Montana, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and US Virgin Islands.

Blink charging stations can be seen on the Blink online map and on the Blink smartphone app. The app lets you save favorite charging stations for quick access, recommends nearby services, allows drivers to search for a station and filter the list of stations based on various criteria, and can view the estimated time and cost of a charging session. Blink stations can also be found and viewed on Google Maps and Apple Maps.

You don’t need to be a Blink member to use a Blink charging station, although members do get discounts on charging and perks like paying with the Blink mobile app. And, unless you’re a Blink member and already on the Blink mobile app, charging at a Blink station can be a little cumbersome.

If you’re already in the app and logged in, find the station, then click “Upload” and then “Start Upload.” Through the app, you can view the charging status, you can pause the charging session, and you can also pay.

Otherwise, you can use a Blink membership card to initiate a charging session by holding it to the charger’s RFID reader and following the instructions on the screen. If you don’t have the app or a membership card, you’ll need to call Blink customer service to get a guest code to start a charging session. You’ll then select “Charge as Guest” on the screen, enter your payment information, and continue to begin your charge session.

Blink’s network offers DC and Tier-2 fast charging options, making it generally competitive with all EV charging networks. Level two stations provide 240 volts with 80 amps of power, and DC fast chargers are typically deployed on 480 amp circuits and range from 30 kW to 350 kW. The load type is visible on the Blink map or in the app.

Although you can see Blink’s rates for charging when you use the map or app to find a station, other than that, there’s little information on how much you should expect to pay. As Blink says on its website, “Charging rates for our stations are listed on the chargers. Charging rates are also displayed in the Blink Charging mobile app when you select a charging station. Charging rates vary from location to location and depend on the type of equipment. The actual cost to fully charge a vehicle depends on the car.”

It’s pretty clear that Blink doesn’t want to divulge rate information that can be compared to its rivals, but if you need to know while you’re deciding which charging station to use near you, that information should be readily available then.

The easiest way to pay at a Blink charging station is through the app. The app stores payment information and displays all session information. If you don’t have the app, you can use a Blink membership card to log in and pay, or you can call Blink customer service to get a code that will allow you to start a charging session and then you can set up the app. I pay. on the loader screen.

In early 2022, Blink showcased new plug-and-charge compatible chargers at the Consumer Electronics Show. Until these are installed, Blink will not be able to conveniently plug and charge. Plug and charge means you can simply plug in your car and go; everything else, including payment, is taken care of thanks to the communication between the charger and the car. Currently, the easiest use case for Blink is for a Blink member who already has the mobile app installed with payment information stored.

If you can’t charge at home or at work, and you need to use a public charging station, and a Blink charging station happens to be the most convenient for you based on how you define convenience, then go ahead and Blink will go.

Charging at home is the best and most efficient way to own an EV, and Blink offers a number of home charging station solutions, though they still aren’t the same for everyone and simply won’t ever work for some EV owners who rent or whose property cannot accommodate the household load. Blink’s public charging network doesn’t have any notable advantages over its rivals, but it also doesn’t have any drawbacks aside from location, so if Blink is right for you while you’re on the road, that’s when you should use it.

The Blink network isn’t noticeably better than rival EV charging networks. Blink’s chargers are on par with other companies’ chargers in terms of speed, so if you need to charge on the go and Blink’s charger is the closest or most convenient, there’s no reason not to charge there. And, without pricing information, it’s hard to reliably compare Blink’s prices to others. Some rival networks are larger and more widespread than Blink, so it’s unlikely that most EV drivers can or should charge exclusively or primarily with Blink unless it’s extremely convenient.