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The United States is making strides in bringing electric cars into reality, however, the availability of charging infrastructure remains a significant obstacle towards widespread acceptance. To facilitate the growing number of electric vehicles on the road, it is crucial to prioritize the deployment of direct current fast-charging stations. The question arises: what is the required number of DC fast chargers to sustain the imminent influx of EVs?
EV Charging Strides
Barron’s reports that the Biden administration has shared a roster of companies and organizations committed to deploying 500,000 public EV chargers in the U.S. by 2030. The list includes prominent names from the automotive industry such as Uber, Blink Charging, Zipcar, and the National Automobile Dealers Association. These entities have pledged to expand their EV fleets, raise consumer awareness, and increase the availability of EV charging. The U.S. Department of Energy has stated that there were approximately 140,000 EV charging ports across the country by the end of last year, out of which only 28,000 were DC fast-charging ports.
Although determining the precise number of EV chargers needed is challenging, Barron’s suggests that the 28,000 fast chargers by the end of 2022 should at least equal the number of gas stations in the U.S. by the end of the decade. If the U.S. aims to meet the White House’s objective of 50% of new car sales being EVs by 2030, there would need to be around 45 million EVs on the road, or about 3,000 EVs per fast charger. With the help of home charging, which most EV owners use to slow-charge their vehicles overnight, Barron’s speculates that this number “may suffice.”
In the long term, Tesla intends to extend its Supercharger network to other electric vehicle brands, which could be beneficial. At present, the company is only testing this initiative at a few designated stations in the United States, but it has indicated that it intends to expand the service more extensively over time. Undoubtedly, the U.S. will require all the assistance it can receive to assuage consumer range anxiety and maintain the beloved American road trip tradition.
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