U.S. on track to 'meet and exceed' goal of 500,000 public EV chargers

WASHINGTON—The U.S. is projected to reach, and possibly even surpass, President Joe Biden's goal of building a nationwide network of 500,000 publicly available electric vehicle chargers by 2030, a White House official said.

"In 2023, we wrapped up (with) around 170,000 chargers nationwide, and we're on a trajectory—accelerating trajectory—to meet and exceed the president's goal to hit 500,000 chargers and build that nationwide backbone," White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday.

Zaidi's remarks came ahead of a Biden administration announcement of $623 million in grants to build EV chargers and alternative fueling infrastructure in certain urban and rural communities across the U.S. The funding stems from the 2021 infrastructure law's $2.5 billion discretionary grant program, which complements an additional $5 billion provided to states to achieve Biden's vision of a cross-country road trip that is compatible with EVs.

The grants unveiled Jan. 11 will fund 47 projects in 22 states plus Puerto Rico and include the construction of about 7,500 EV charging ports.

Of the $623 million, the Federal Highway Administration said it was awarding $311 million to 36 "community" projects, such as EV charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities, including locations such as schools, parks and libraries. An additional $312 million will go to 11 "corridor" projects along designated alternative fuel corridors.

As part of Biden's Justice40 Initiative—a governmentwide effort to ensure federal investments reach disadvantaged communities—the administration must ensure at least 40 percent of the discretionary grant program's benefits flow to those populations, particularly rural and tribal.

More than 70 percent of the funding announced Thursday will support projects in disadvantaged communities, the administration said.

"This is just one part of the puzzle," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at the briefing. "But thanks to President Biden's leadership and the infrastructure law, we have funding for tens of thousands more (chargers), as part of a larger national policy and national effort."

Late last year, the first two federally funded EV charging stations began operating in Ohio and New York. But the U.S. still has a long way to go in alleviating consumer and industry concerns about access to convenient and reliable charging infrastructure.

In a report released Jan. 9, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major auto makers in the U.S., said installation of public chargers is not keeping up with current and projected EV sales.

Nationwide, 378,097 EVs were registered in the third quarter of 2023, but just 7,800 public chargers were added—a ratio of 48 EVs for every new public port, according to the report.

A federal study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory released in June found the U.S. will need 28 million charging ports to support a scenario in which 33 million EVs are on the road by 2030.

A cumulative public and private capital investment of $53 billion to $127 billion in charging infrastructure—including private residential charging—would be needed by 2030, the study found. For public chargers only, the study estimates an investment of $31 billion to $55 billion.

To meet the study's infrastructure estimate, 414 chargers will need to be installed every day over the next seven years—or nearly three chargers every 10 minutes—through the end of 2030, according to the alliance.