NEW YORK — It may be impossible to predict when electric vehicles (EVs) will become more commonplace on America’s roadways but getting that timing right will be vital to convenience stores. S&P Global Mobility forecasts more than 18 million EVs to be on the road in 2030 in the United States.
To support this volume of vehicles, 1.8 million charging stations will be required by that same 2030 milestone. As much as 95% could be Level 2 AC chargers, built alongside points of interest (POIs) with the intent of servicing many vehicles concurrently. That’s according to the EV Charger Deployment Optimization Report, released by the Fuels Institute and S&P Global Mobility, New York.
“This plan’s yearly targets [account for] 915 million oil barrels’ worth of emissions that won’t pollute our communities.”
However, the world has been turned upside down in the past few years with a global pandemic, the volatility of oil prices and supply chain issues. There are many unknown factors that could affect what sorts of cars travel the roadways in 2030. This uncertainty has forced retailers to choose whether to install EV infrastructure early and risk a lack of demand or wait and risk losing out on an opportunity.
As the industry weighs how to proceed, read more to see goals and investments made toward building America’s EV infrastructure, where they’re coming from and the deadline.
The federal government is making $615 million available to states under the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program to build out a national EV charging network.
Furthermore, standards proposed by the Biden administration recommend that EV charging stations built as part of the NEVI would be built every 50 miles along major highways, and no more than 1 mile off those corridors. The standards direct states to ensure that EV charging stations are built in less dense parts of the country, including rural and tribal communities. They require EV charging companies to provide customers with real-time information, so they can tell when a charging station is occupied or broken. They also require at least four 150 kW DC fast-charging ports per station to address range anxiety among consumers.
The NEVI program supplies states with grant money, but the deadline for each EV infrastructure project is up to each individual state. While NEVI has no set deadline for when work will be complete, the massive investment in EV infrastructure has the potential to spur more investment in and faster adoption of EVs.
Volvo has committed to go “fully electric” by 2030, while General Motors aims to eliminate tailpipe emissions by 2035. GM’s larger goal is to be carbon neutral by 2040. Ford has not made a specific pledge, as Volvo and GM have, but it is investing $22 billion—in addition to an existing $10 billion—to EV development through 2025.
Toyota has said it will invest $3.8 billion in its battery manufacturing plant in North Carolina. By 2030, Honda says 40% of its North American vehicle sales will be either battery electric or hydrogen, and by 2040, all gas cars will be phased out.
These pledges and planned investments might change over time, but these moves will drive the adoption of EVs even if carmakers do not quite reach their goals.
In August, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the Advanced Clean Cars II rule requiring 100% of new car, light truck and SUV sales in California to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035. It does not affect existing vehicles on the road today, which will still be legal to own and drive.
In addition, there is $300 million budgeted for more charging infrastructure, especially for those consumers who may not have a garage where they can charge their EV, according to an announcement from CARB.
“This plan’s yearly targets—35% ZEV sales by 2026, 68% by 2030, and 100% by 2035—provide our road map to reducing dangerous carbon emissions and moving away from fossil fuels. That’s 915 million oil barrels’ worth of emissions that won’t pollute our communities,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom.