What's happening: Electrify America, Tesla and a recently announced GM–Bechtel partnership, among others, are building thousands of electric charging stations, most near commercial activity, along major interstates or at transit hubs.
- Roughly 150,000 U.S. gas stations could also offer electric charging. The petroleum lobby has largely resisted this, but a new Chevron charging pilot could signal change.
But, but, but: Over a million electric vehicles have been sold in the U.S. As of March, there were 63,303 charging stations, a large percentage of them in California.
- The annual growth rate of public charging stations has plateaued at around 20% over the last 5 years, but the ratio of EVs per station is climbing from about 6 EVs per station in 2012 to an expected 28 per station in 2021.
- Even if charging stations are widely distributed, regional and local electricity suppliers will need to find a way to meet demand for EVs charging at unpredictable rates and times without causing brownouts or blown transformers.
What we're watching: Battery improvements will certainly help, and “quick-charge” speeds are dropping to mere minutes.
- Super-fast charging, though, is expected to demand huge amounts of power. A station with 20 fast-charging units could draw as much as six megawatts of power — the same as a typical small town.
- Dynamic induction, the wireless charging of moving vehicles, could also be useful for stretches of highway.
- AVs will theoretically be able to navigate to charging stations or charge through induction, which could help to distribute energy demand
- Home-based systems — which most EV drivers currently use for the majority of their charging — can also take pressure off of charging stations.
The bottom line: EV penetration could be stifled without significant, large-scale investment in charging infrastructure and advanced charging technology that can keep pace with EV adoption.
Jim Barbaresso is SVP of intelligent transportation systems at HNTB, an infrastructure advisory firm.
