WTF Shell? First You Bought Volta, Now You’ve Axed It — Welcome to the EV “Transition” That Doesn’t Charge

So, Shell—the globe-trotting fossil overlord known for turning everything it touches into carbon or chaos—has once again demonstrated how to fumble a “green” investment faster than you can say “climate crisis.” Yes, folks, the oil giant that tried to act like it cared about electric vehicles by buying Volta Inc. in 2023 has now killed it off, like a CEO burying a sustainability clause in a shareholder meeting.

According to Shell’s statement to CSP Daily News, it’s all part of a brilliant (read: brutally profit-driven) pivot. The company’s latest masterstroke? Ditch Volta’s retail-based, ad-supported EV charging network to focus instead on—you guessed it—fast chargers at Shell-branded gas stations.

Let’s pause and appreciate the full quote from Shell:

“This decision aligns with performance measures previously stated at the group level,” the company told CSP, adding that the pivot reflects where it sees “the greatest competitive advantage in an evolving market.”

Translation: “We bought a media-heavy, customer-facing EV charging business and now we’re dumping it because gas stations with DC fast chargers sell more Gatorade and don’t require us to think too hard about retail media strategy.”

Volta wasn’t just some random startup. It provided the Shell Recharge Network with chargepoints at shopping centers, grocery stores, and pharmacies across 31 U.S. states and territories. It even had a pipeline of over 3,400 chargepoints in development.

That’s a lot of potential charging spots that are now either going dark by Dec. 31 or being shuffled to someone else who might still believe in this whole “transition away from oil” thing.

Shell even admitted it’s killing Volta’s media business—a key part of the company’s value:

“Retail media, a selling point for Volta’s ad-supported charging model, is not part of Shell’s new EV strategy.”

So what is part of Shell’s strategy? Shockingly, just the parts that make them money—and quickly. The company says it’s prioritizing DC fast charging at its own sites and standalone EV hubs in high-growth markets. Because apparently, that’s where “greater value and competitive advantage” lives.

Even while shutting Volta down, Shell wants credit for staying in the EV game:

“As the EV charging industry evolves, we must respond with agility,” Shell said. “These changes are necessary to build a successful and scalable EV charging network that future generations can rely on and benefit from.”

Oh please. If Shell really wanted to build a future-proof charging network, it wouldn’t be pulling the plug on one of the most accessible, visible, and retail-integrated networks in the country.

Let’s not forget: Shell serves 8 million people per day across 12,000 U.S. gas stations, and 32 million globally. This isn’t a struggling indie shop—it’s a global empire. But apparently, Volta’s slower ROI just wasn’t fast enough to feed the beast.

So now, another hopeful part of the U.S. EV infrastructure effort bites the dust—so Shell can refocus on selling snacks and premium unleaded under a greenwashed e-mobility label.

Welcome to Shell’s Electric Future™: Fast, Branded, and Totally Underwhelming

Volta’s death is not just about business strategy. It’s a warning. The energy transition can’t run on PR and performance metrics alone—and when Big Oil gets bored, it just changes the rules, crushes the experiment, and moves on.

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