EV charging company Electric Era expands into new space in Sodo

Seattle-based electric vehicle charging company Electric Era in January moved into a 20,000-square-foot space at 3847 First Ave. S. in Sodo.

Electric Era previously worked out of a roughly 4,000-square-foot space in Interbay but needed a new space to house its growing team, according to Electric Era founder and CEO Quincy Lee.

He said the company had been deciding between staying in Seattle or moving to the Eastside, but the central location and vibrancy of Seattle made Sodo the right fit.

"Even though (Sodo) is kind of gritty and a little rough around the edges, it's actually very nice and clean, and it's filled with really good food offerings and cool office spaces," Lee said. "We found that the city's leadership was taking security, safety and generally the homelessness problem seriously. We found Sodo to be actually quite clean and safe. We want people to be down here with us and building with us, and can affirm the fact that it is a great, safe, clean place to build."

Electric Era, founded in 2019, makes EV charging stations that aim to mimic what consumers are used to at a gas station. According to Lee, consumers pull up to the station, touch the screen, plug in the car, swipe a credit card and drive away, a refreshing change given many EV charging stations are hard to find or out of order.

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The startup works with convenience stores to bring charging stations to their parking lots. Lee, a former SpaceX engineer, previously said these stores can take one to six stations, with the sweet spot being four. Electric Era works with the likes of Plaid Pantry and Space Age Fuel to make inroads in the industry.

Lee said Electric Era is about to bring its fourth charging station online, but the company has about 14 sites in development. It has two in Seattle, one in Portland and is about to turn one on in the Boston area. The company has 21 employees, up from 15 in August when it raised an $11.5 million Series A round.

Earlier this month, Electric Era announced the Washington State Department of Commerce has awarded $1.2 million to three businesses in rural and tribal communities that will use the funding to install Electric Era charging stations. According to Lee, Electric Era's government affairs team walked the businesses, which were convenience stores and gas stations, through the application process.

The three businesses are A1 Gas in Arlington, Gliding Eagle Market in Kingston and Wolf Den in Wapato, Yakima County. Lee said the aim is to have the charging stations online by the holidays.

As for why Electric Era wants to grow its company in the Seattle area rather than a larger tech hub like the Bay Area, Lee said access to talent is key.

"The entire internet is run out of Seattle. The cloud companies are all here," Lee said. "The cost of talent is notably lower, and the competition for that talent is notably lower. Seattle is an outstanding place to build a company."