The popularization of charging infrastructure is closely related to the public's confidence in the future of electric vehicles. In the United States, the government's efforts to promote the construction of electric vehicle infrastructure are ongoing, but unexpected obstacles are gradually emerging.

On August 27, the US Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation jointly announced that they would increase investment in the new energy field and planned to allocate $521 million to continue building the national electric vehicle charging network. According to the plan, the involved regions include 29 states, 8 federally recognized tribes, and the District of Columbia, and it is expected to build more than 9,200 electric vehicle charging piles. This initiative aims to improve the accessibility of charging infrastructure and encourage more consumers to purchase and use electric vehicles.

Since the current US administration took office, the number of public electric vehicle charging facilities has doubled to over 192,000, with an average of about 1,000 new facilities added each week. Despite the slow progress, this indicates that the government's efforts to promote the construction of electric vehicle infrastructure are ongoing. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the government is taking effective measures to ensure that the US continues to lead in the electric vehicle revolution. He pointed out that this historic infrastructure plan will provide necessary support for the national electric vehicle charging network to ensure that all drivers can charge conveniently and reliably.

This is not the first time the US government has proposed strengthening the construction of charging infrastructure. As early as 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law promised to provide $7.5 billion in funding for the construction of a national electric vehicle charging network and planned to allocate funds to states over the next five years after 2022 through the "formula grant program" to support the implementation of the "National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan." The phased goal of this plan is to build 500,000 public charging piles by 2030. However, despite the favorable policy background, the actual construction progress has been relatively slow. In the past two years, only seven public electric vehicle charging stations funded by the federal government have been built and put into operation in four states: Hawaii, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, with a total of 38 charging piles. Four more states are under construction, and 12 states have selected construction contractors.

Regarding the contrast between paper promises and reality, the Federal Highway Administration stated, "We are building a national electric vehicle charging network from scratch, and we want to do it right." The agency claims to have formulated project guidance to guide state governments in formulating implementation plans, and it is expected that the construction progress of charging stations in each state will accelerate. However, Nick Negro, the founder of Atlas Public Policy, pointed out that almost all state transportation departments in the United States lack experience in building public charging stations, and the approval and bidding processes are time-consuming, which affects the progress of charging station construction. However, he predicts that the construction speed will accelerate this year.

Has the charging infrastructure achieved nationwide "coverage"?

According to an analysis of US Department of Energy data by the Pew Research Center, approximately 60% of the US public resides within 2 miles of a public charging station. As of February 2024, 61,000 public electric vehicle charging stations have been established nationwide. Urban residents have the easiest access to charging stations, with 60% of urban residents living within one mile of the nearest public electric vehicle charger, compared to 41% for suburban residents and only 17% for rural residents. Overall, over 95% of the US public now resides in counties with at least one public electric vehicle charging station.

However, for some federal states in the heart of the western United States, the prerequisites for implementation are still not met. The Washington Post reported that the current administration's high standards for new charging stations also pose challenges for state governments, such as requiring each charging pile to have a power output of 150 kilowatts and charging stations to be within one mile of interstate highways. However, taking Nevada as an example, the state cannot even meet the federal minimum standard of having a charging station every 50 miles along interstate highways.

The Nevada Independent reported that the charging infrastructure construction plans of Nevada's utility company NV Energy, the Nevada Department of Transportation, and the federal and private sectors are inconsistent and incoherent, described as a "hodgepodge." The construction progress of charging stations is slow, and the existing number of charging piles is severely insufficient, unevenly distributed, and inconveniently located. Currently, Nevada has a total of 2,165 electric vehicle charging piles distributed across 609 charging stations in the state, concentrated mainly in urban areas, with a significant lack of stations along highways in rural areas. Residents of the state also experience range anxiety, opting for fuel vehicles for long-distance travel even after purchasing electric vehicles.

This has greatly delayed the promotion of electric vehicles in the state. As of 2023, among the light vehicles registered in Nevada, there were 47,400 battery electric vehicles, 10,600 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and 69,600 hybrid electric vehicles, which are still relatively few compared to 2,169,300 gasoline vehicles and 85,800 diesel vehicles. Similar issues exist in Wyoming, Idaho, and New Mexico regarding charging infrastructure and the promotion of electric vehicles.

Therefore, a considerable number of Americans still lack confidence in the ability to build the necessary infrastructure to support a large number of electric vehicles. A report from the Pew Research Center shows that only 17% of US adults are very confident in the country's ability to develop such infrastructure. Among those who live within one mile of a public charging station, 20% expressed strong confidence, which is double the 11% of those who live more than 2 miles from a charging station.

An Uncertain Future

Compared to government funding for infrastructure construction, the real main force behind the US charging infrastructure lies in private enterprises and charging equipment manufacturers, who have played an important role in promoting the popularization of electric vehicle charging facilities, especially Tesla. As of the first quarter of 2023, there were approximately 140,000 charging piles in the United States, of which about 30,000 were DC fast charging piles, accounting for about one-fifth. More than 40% of these fast charging piles are from Tesla's proprietary Supercharger network.

However, the growing problem of charger maintenance has become a new obstacle to the promotion of electric vehicles. Although the public is anxious about the scarcity of charging stations, the frequent "damage" to public charging piles has also become an important reason for American consumers to choose traditional gasoline or hybrid vehicles. Since the beginning of 2024, multiple Level 2 (L2) and Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) stations have been vandalized in the United States. Surveys have shown that early vandals were mainly motivated by opposition to electric vehicles, while later incidents were more often for the purpose of stealing copper wire from charging cables.

According to Electrify America, two years ago, an average of one cable was cut every six months at each of the 968 charging stations (about 4,400 charging piles) managed by the agency. Even at one charging station in the Seattle area, there were six incidents of cable cutting recorded in the past year. Another electric vehicle charging company, EVgo, also reported an increase in vandalism of public charging infrastructure in the Seattle area. The Sacramento-based Electric Vehicle Charging Association pointed out that over 20% of charging stations in the United States have experienced varying degrees of vandalism, including copper theft, tampering with electronic components, and charger short circuits. Paul Bonacci, Secretary-General of the Nevada Electric Vehicle Association, also complained about the chaos in Nevada's charging facilities: some charging station cables have been cut, while others are occupied by fuel vehicles, turning them into parking spaces.

Therefore, the overall insufficient investment, slow construction, and poor maintenance of charging infrastructure have raised concerns among American consumers about the future of local electric vehicle infrastructure. However, the more critical issue lies in the sustainability of electric vehicle industry policies. With the 2024 US presidential election in full swing, there are significant differences in the positions of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on the development of the electric vehicle industry. Harris publicly supports the government's efforts to expand access to and manufacturing of electric vehicles in the United States, while Trump has pledged to abolish related policies. During a candidate debate on September 10, Trump expressed a desire to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, which emphasizes the clean energy industry, and to reclaim unused funds, promising to declare a national energy emergency upon election to increase US oil and gas production, aiming to significantly increase domestic energy supply.

The New York Times commented that Trump's Perseverance on fossil fuels and his proposed industrial policies could destroy the nascent electric vehicle industry in the United States. For the closely related charging infrastructure industry, whether it will start "going wild" or come to a halt remains to be seen.

Note: This article was originally published in the "Global Perspective" column of the October 2024 issue of Auto Industry Review magazine. Stay tuned.

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