Anyone who has tried charging an electric vehicle in a condo garage knows the experience can be surprisingly low-tech. A charger is broken or a space is perpetually occupied. Sometimes the solution looks more like an extension cord hanging from the ceiling than the future of transportation.
For Ed Wise, CEO of Miami-based PositivEnergy, those everyday frustrations point to one of the biggest challenges facing the EV industry.
“Charging infrastructure only works if it matches how people actually live,” Wise told Refresh Miami.
The company has spent the past two years evolving from an energy storage business into a fast-growing EV infrastructure provider focused on what Wise sees as the industry’s next phase: moving beyond simply installing chargers and toward building charging networks that people can actually depend on.
That strategy recently led to one of PositivEnergy’s biggest wins yet. The company was selected by the City of Philadelphia to help deploy approximately 435 public charging ports across the city, including both DC fast chargers and Level 2 chargers. The project is expected to expand charging access for residents, commuters, and visitors while supporting Philadelphia’s broader electrification goals.
For PositivEnergy, the award is about more than adding new chargers to the map. “Drivers should not have to wonder whether a charger will work when they arrive,” Wise said. “Our focus is simple: build infrastructure that is reliable, accessible, and built to last.”
The Philadelphia project also reflects a broader shift taking place across the EV sector. During the industry’s early growth years, many charging deployments were driven by incentives, mandates, or the race to install as many chargers as possible. But as EV ownership continues to grow, operators are increasingly being judged on reliability and real-world usage.
According to Wise, roughly 80% of PositivEnergy’s customers come to the company after experiencing problems with previous charging providers.
“We literally get pulled in to fix other people’s problems,” he said. A major part of that approach comes down to site selection. PositivEnergy developed PositivAssess, a proprietary platform that evaluates traffic patterns, demographics, EV adoption rates, utility constraints, and other factors to determine where charging infrastructure should be deployed.
“A charger in the wrong location is a complete failure, even if it’s the best charger in the world,” Wise asserted.
The company is also leaning heavily into artificial intelligence to improve efficiency and decision-making. AI tools are being used to support everything from site analysis and project planning to sales and operational workflows.
Despite operating with just nine employees, PositivEnergy has built a growing national footprint that includes projects with municipalities, airports, universities, utilities, and commercial real estate owners.
For Wise, Miami has played a major role in that growth story. PositivEnergy’s first paying customer was in South Florida, and he ultimately moved the company to Miami during the pandemic.
“It’s one of the most dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems in the country,” he said. “It’s a tremendous access to talent, capital, and innovation.”
READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:
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- Miami wants AI. But our grid, water, and weather also have a say.
