Federal minimum standards for federally funded electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects released by the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation will, in part, apply to the installation, operation or maintenance of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The goal of this final rule, announced Feb. 15, is the construction of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030 for a Made-in-America electric vehicle charging network, a news release said. The hope is to have electric vehicles make up at least 50% of new cars sales by 2030.
“This is a major step toward a world where every EV user will be able to find safe, reliable charging stations anywhere in the country,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release. “We’re establishing common, universal standards for EV charging stations just like the ones for gas stations, so that recharging an EV away from home will be as predictable and accessible as filling up a gas tank.”
The effort also hopes to create good-paying manufacturing and installation jobs and advance an industrial strategy to build out the domestic electric vehicle and electric vehicle charging industry, according to a White House fact sheet.
The new standards require all chargers funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to be built within the U.S., the White House reported. The plan immediately mandates the final assembly and manufacturing of iron or steel charger enclosures or housing occur domestically. By July 2024, at least 55% of the cost of all components will also need to be domestically manufactured.
The Department of Energy also announced $7.4 million in funding for seven projects to develop innovative medium- and heavy-duty EV charging and hydrogen corridor infrastructure plans, while the Federal Highway Administration revealed details about its Charging and Fueling Infrastructure discretionary grant program that will be launched soon, the White House reported.
The program will provide more than $2.5 billion, including $700 million in funding during the first round available to states, localities, Tribes, territories and public authorities over five years, according to the White House fact sheet.
The Biden administration is committing $7.5 billion to electric vehicle charging, $10 billion to clean transportation and more than $7 billion to the development of electric vehicle battery components, critical minerals and materials, the fact sheet reported.
This investment has led to a tripling of electric vehicle sales, with the number of publicly accessible charging ports increasing by at least 40% since President Joe Biden took office. Today, there are more than three million electric vehicles on the road, and more than 130,000 public chargers are available throughout the country, according to the White House.
