The Biden administration wants to see at least 500,000 electric vehicle chargers on US roads by 2030, and announced a slate of initiatives on Wednesday to help make that a reality, including commitments from companies that build and operate charging networks . Tesla, GM, ford, charge point and others.
All companies stand to reap the benefits of federal funding if their planned charging infrastructure projects meet the new federal standards, which were also revealed Wednesday.
As part of this effort, White House officials said, they called off a commitment from Tesla to open thousands of its chargers to electric vehicles made by other manufacturers. Until now in the US, Tesla Supercharging stations were primarily available to drivers of the company’s own cars.
Tesla specifically agreed to make at least 7,500 of its chargers publicly accessible in the US through the end of 2024 for use by any compatible EV. That total will include at least 3,500 of Tesla’s 250-kilowatt Superchargers located along key highway corridors. Officials said that in the form of slow Level 2 destination chargers that the automaker provides at places like hotels and restaurants.
The official said Tesla has also agreed to triple the number of Superchargers in its US network, with the new chargers being built in Buffalo, NY. The company is adding some of its charging equipment to a facility in Buffalo that was originally intended as a solar panel factory.
Tesla has intended to open its charging network in the US for years. According to Tesla’s most recent annual financial filings, In November 2021 the company began offering Supercharger access for non-Tesla vehicles in certain locations “in support of our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
White House infrastructure chief Mitch Landrieu told reporters Tuesday that Musk was one of several CEOs in the automotive sector involved in discussions with the White House over the past year about charging infrastructure.
“He was very open, he was very creative,” Landrieu said. “And at that point, they said they intended to work with us to make their networks interoperable. Everyone on the call agreed.”
“It was critically important to us to include everyone in the conversation,” Landrieu said.
The White House also praised a separate deal between other automakers and companies General Motorspilot company, and charging network EVGO 2,000 Fast chargers at Pilot and Flying J centers along US highways.
GM, through a separate partnership with FLO, also plans to install 40,000 public Level 2 EV chargers in US communities by 2026, which will become part of GM’s Ultium Charge 360 network, and will be available to all EV drivers. will be available.
Ford is committed to deploy DC fast chargers across 1,920 of the company’s dealerships by January 2024.
haters and oil giants BPplans to set up an EV charging unit install thousands of chargers For use by Hertz customers and the general public in major US cities.
In Wednesday’s announcements, the Department of Energy and Transport also revealed new charging standards that “ensure everyone can access the network – no matter what car you drive or what state you charge in.” ” In requirements:
- All new chargers built with federal funds must support the Combined Charging System (CCS) plug standard. The CCS standard is used by most automakers except Tesla.
- New charging sites built with federal funds will require, at a minimum, DC fast chargers.
- Federally funded chargers must be up and running at least 97% of the time once installed.
- Effective immediately, all federally-funded Chargers must be assembled in the U.S., and their steel enclosures must be made in the U.S. By July 2024, at least 55% of the Chargers’ components (as measured by cost) must be made in the U.S. Must go well.
- The new chargers, built with federal funds to be compatible with new user-friendly technologies such as “plug and charge,” which — as the name suggests — automate the process of paying fees.
There are also new rules to help ensure drivers don’t have to use multiple apps to find and access chargers, by making data on the location, pricing and availability of chargers available through mapping applications. goes.
But in an omission that will raise questions from staunch environmentalists, the new federally funded EV chargers will not be powered by clean energy sources.
Officials said it will be “up to the company” whether the EV chargers that are federally funded are powered by renewables or “clean electricity” or are connected to existing electrical grids.
According to estimates by the non-profit International Council on Clean Transportation, transportation is responsible for 25% of carbon emissions from human activity globally. Much of that pollution comes from tailpipe emissions, but charging electricity from clean or renewable sources outweighs the climate benefits of switching to an electric vehicle.
According to environmental impact research by Project Drawdown, emissions are reduced by 50% when an electric vehicle’s power is drawn from the conventional grid, compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. When powered by solar power, carbon dioxide emissions from an electric vehicle are reduced by 95% compared to a comparable internal combustion engine vehicle burning gasoline.
However, officials suggested that it would work in the long run. During the briefing, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stressed that the president’s goal is to achieve a “completely clean electrical grid” by 2035.