#71: IONNA partners with Circle K

IONNA expands with Circle K partnership, Midterm Watch: Control of Congress in play, Paren shows utilization drop

Author

Steve Taylor
April 25, 2026

The Business and Policy of Charging Infrastructure

The 3 big stories

  • IONNA and Circle K partner on 350+ charging sites

  • Midterm Watch: Control of Congress in play as redistricting escalates

  • Paren shows infrastructure growth and lower utilization

Plus, featured jobs and news.

Enjoy,
Steve

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Industry News

IONNA announced a strategic partnership with Circle K to roll out more than 350 "Rechargeries @ Circle K" sites across the U.S.. IONNA will take over operation of Circle K's existing U.S. charging portfolio, converting and upgrading approximately 85 current sites to its 400 kW, NACS-and-CCS hardware, and adding new builds at 250+ additional high-traffic Circle K locations. The first co-branded sites will open by the end of 2026.

Circle K currently operates more than 7,300 U.S. stores and previously ran its own DC fast-charging network of roughly 93 sites and 378 stalls. IONNA already has partnerships with Wawa, Sheetz, Casey's, and Wally's. The deal gets IONNA closer to its stated target of 30,000 high-power bays by 2030.

Steve's take

IONNA now has commitments from four of the top convenience brands in the U.S. 

Circle K's existing chargers are slower and limited to a single connector type, while IONNA's are faster and compatible with both major standards. While the hardware update is interesting, what I find more significant is the 265 new builds. The 85 converted sites get IONNA to revenue faster, while the new builds will move the network closer to 30,000 bays.

As with all of these deals, the risk is in the execution. Converting 85 live sites while building 265 new ones will be a project management challenge. If IONNA ships close to plan, they have the clearest path to profitability of any OEM-backed fast-charging network to date.

Power and Policy

Midterm Watch: Control of Congress in Play as Redistricting Escalates

The 2026 midterm elections are rapidly shaping into a highly competitive referendum on the Trump administration, with early indicators pointing to a volatile and potentially divided government outcome. While Republicans currently control both chambers, the political environment—and increasingly, the electoral map itself—is shifting beneath them.

Republicans enter the cycle with a razor-thin majority, leaving little margin for error. The battlefield is already defined with roughly 18 House districts currently rated as true toss-ups and Republicans defending the majority of them. Democrats only need a net gain of ~3 seats to reclaim the majority. Structural factors—including retirements and redistricting—are expanding the competitive map. At the same time, Republicans maintain key advantages, including strong fundraising momentum, with the NRCC slightly outraising Democrats early in the cycle.

Recent polling and betting markets show growing odds of a Democratic House flip, with some projections approaching a 50/50 probability of unified Democratic control.  The House is currently the most likely chamber to flip, with outcomes hinging on a small number of suburban swing districts.

The Senate map presents a more complex picture.  Republicans hold a 53–47 majority and Democrats must gain 4 seats to take control. Of the 35 seats up, Republicans are defending a disproportionate share (23 seats). The key Senate battlegrounds are:

·         Georgia, Michigan, Maine, North Carolina – widely viewed as toss-ups

·         Texas emerging as unexpectedly competitive

·         Contests in Ohio, Alaska, and Nebraska are tightening

The Senate map still structurally favors Republicans due to the geographic distribution and incumbency advantages in red-leaning states. However, the Senate is in play, with Democrats needing a near-perfect cycle to pull off a majority.

The most important—and underappreciated—story of the 2026 cycle is the surge in mid-decade redistricting, which is now directly impacting control of the House.  In Virginia, voters recently approved a new map that could flip up to four Republican-held seats. Democrats could expand from a 6–5 edge to as much as 10–1 dominance in the state delegation.  In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis is pursuing a redraw that could create up to four additional GOP seats but that strategy is likely headed for court battles over anti-gerrymandering laws. At least four other states still have maps subject to change before November with the courts expected to play a decisive role in final maps 

Rob’s take

Historical precedent—and current conditions—are converging.  Presidential approval is softening, with recent polling showing weakness among independents.  The NY Times this week had President Trump’s disapproval at its highest level of his second term at 58%, with only 39% approving.  Key voter concerns include inflation and cost of living, foreign policy/Iran, and immigration policy. These dynamics traditionally favor the out-of-power party in midterms.

The bottom line is this--the 2026 midterms are trending toward a highly competitive, asymmetric fight.  As of today:

  • House: Slight Democratic edge due to math + environment

  • Senate: Lean Republican but volatile and tightening

  • Redistricting: The single biggest swing factor still in motion

Emerging Tech

Paren released its Q1 2026 State of the Industry Report this week. The big takeaway is that charger deployment is outpacing EV demand, at least for now.

The U.S. added 3,387 new DCFC ports across 617 new stations in Q1, roughly flat year over year but with 14% fewer stations, meaning new sites are getting bigger. Average new-station size hit 5.5 ports, up from 4.6 a year ago. Total U.S. DCFC count now sits at 73,394 ports across 13,708 locations.

Utilization dropped to 15.6% (from 16.2% a year ago), reliability increased marginally to 93.5%, and pricing held at $0.53/kWh, unchanged from Q4 2025. 

Tesla added 880 new ports and still represents 51% of the national DCFC base, while non-Tesla networks deployed 2,507 ports, led by IONNA (+278) and Red E (+264). High-power chargers (250+ kW) made up 67% of new deployments, and NACS reached nearly 52% connector share across the full market.

Steve's take

The 15.6% utilization headline in the report is misleading. Sessions were up 15% year over year, and March came close to a record. Paren is correct in saying the problem is "localized overcapacity, but not structural."

What I find most significant is who's deploying and how.

  • Non-Tesla station size increased 31% year over year to 4.6 ports. These non-Tesla networks are finally building hubs instead of single-charger one-offs. This will increase site reliability and improve the overall driver experience.

  • 67% of new deployments are 250+ kW. Two years ago, that number was under 40%.

  • Red E is building quietly. I don’t see big announcements coming from Red E, but they're deploying at nearly the same pace as IONNA.

I expect utilization to remain uneven through 2026, and site selection, not network size, will decide which operators make money. For investors, the two signals to watch are reliability (issue #59) and pricing stability (issue #64), and both are trending in the right direction.

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⚡️Steve and Rob

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