Case Study: Volta Charging achieves rapid, precision-driven site selection with SafeGraph

Volta Charging Rapidly Scaling Up Site-Selection

Volta Charging, which installs free, advertiser-funded EV charging stations in high-traffic retail locations, needed to rapidly scale site selection while preserving precision and proving clear ROI to retail and advertising partners. Faced with noisy public transit data, inconsistent proprietary datasets, and heavy ETL work, Volta evaluated location-data providers and selected SafeGraph (SafeGraph Patterns data, accessed via Snowflake) to provide the accurate POI, foot-traffic, and demographic signals required.

By using SafeGraph Patterns data natively in Snowflake, Volta leveraged anonymized mobile-location metrics—dwell time, visitation patterns, and travel motifs—to pick high-value sites and demonstrate measurable increases in store visit duration and demand forecasts. SafeGraph’s precision and the Snowflake integration eliminated ETL delays, enabled rapid scaling and new tools (a dynamic proximity engine and pandemic dashboard), strengthened retailer partnerships, and helped Volta maintain placement quality while delivering the most charge per dollar of capital invested.

Volta Charging

Eric Kung

Head of Research & Data Insights