Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces New Standards and Major Progress for a Made-in-America National Network of Electric Vehicle Chargers

Made in America Policies and New Technical Standards Support the Future of the Electric Vehicle Charging Industry, 

Public and Private Actions Accelerate Buildout of National Network and Catalyze Manufacturing Boom 

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its latest set of actions aimed at creating a convenient, reliable and Made-in-America electric vehicle (EV) charging network so that the great American road trip can be electrified.  These steps will help the United States meet President Biden’s ambitious goals to confront the climate crisis, by building a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers along America’s highways and in our communities and have EVs make up at least 50% of new car sales by 2030, all while advancing an industrial strategy to continue to build-out the domestic EV and EV charging industry. The path to net-zero emissions by 2050 is creating good-paying manufacturing and installation jobs on the way.   

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $7.5 billion in EV charging, $10 billion in clean transportation, and over $7 billion in EV battery components, critical minerals, and materials. These flagship programs complement the Inflation Reduction Act’s landmark support for advanced batteries and new and expanded  tax credits for purchases of EVs and to support installations of charging infrastructure, as well as dozens of other federal initiatives designed to drive domestic manufacturing and build a national network of EV charging. The result is that the future of American transportation is on track to be cleaner, safer, more affordable, and more reliable than ever before. Today’s announcements are a further demonstration of the President’s successful industrial strategy, ensuring that the clean energy transition is powered by American manufacturing and good-paying union jobs. 

Because of President Biden’s leadership and record federal investment, EV sales have tripled and the number of publicly available charging ports has grown by at least 40% since he took office. There are now more than three million EVs on the road and over 130,000 public chargers across the country. Further accelerating the buildout of a convenient, reliable charging network is critically important to make electric vehicle charging a seamless experience. Today, companies including Tesla, General Motors, EVgo, Pilot, Hertz and bp, among others, are announcing new commitments to expand their networks by thousands of public charging ports in the next two years, using private funds to complement federal dollars and putting the nation’s EV charging goals even closer within reach.  

Today’s actions include:

    The Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Department of Energy, finalized new standards to make charging EVs convenient and reliable for all Americans, including when driving long distances. The new standards will ensure everyone can use the network – no matter what car you drive or which state you charge in. The standards also require strong workforce standards;

    The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) outlined its final plan for compliance with the Build America, Buy America Act for federally funded EV chargers.  Effective immediately, all EV chargers funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law must be built in the United States. The plan requires that, effective immediately, final assembly and all manufacturing processes for any iron or steel charger enclosures or housing occur in the United States.  By July 2024, at least 55 percent of the cost of all components will need to be manufactured domestically as well;

    The new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation released a notice of intent to issue a funding opportunity for its Ride and Drive Electric research and development program. This program will advance the goal of building a national network of EV chargers for all Americans by supporting EV charging reliability, resiliency, equity, and workforce development;

    The Department of Energy today announced $7.4 million in funding for seven projects to develop innovative medium-and heavy-duty EV charging and hydrogen corridor infrastructure plans serving millions of Americans across 23 states;

    FHWA announced details for its soon-to-launch Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) discretionary grant program. The program will make available more than $2.5 billion over five years – including $700 million in funding through the first round of funding available to states, localities, Tribes, territories, and public authorities – to deploy publicly accessible charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in communities across the country, including at schools, grocery stores, parks, libraries, apartment complexes, and everywhere else Americans live and work; and,

    The Administration highlighted major manufacturing and other new facilities spurred by these investments and the Biden-Harris Administration’s Made in America policies, including new commitments from domestic EV charging manufacturers and network operators.

These announcements build on the well over $100 billion that the private sector has invested in electric vehicle, battery, and EV charging manufacturing in the United States to date. Today’s announcements are evidence of the President’s successful industrial strategy, ensuring that federal funds are attracting private investment to ensure the clean energy transition is powered by American manufacturing and good-paying union jobs. Combined with investments in battery manufacturing and tax credits for electric vehicle purchases and charging infrastructure driven by the Inflation Reduction Act, these programs are key to achieving the Administration’s climate goals.

ACCESSIBLE, RELIABLE, CONVENIENT, USER-FRIENDLY EV CHARGING NETWORK

To ensure ready access to charging and spur good manufacturing jobs at home, President Biden has publicly committed to building out a convenient, reliable, and user-friendly national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030.  In support of this vision, the Department of Transportation announced the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program (NEVI), a $5 billion initiative to create a coast-to-coast network of electric vehicle chargers focused on major highways that support the majority of long-distance trips.  This national network will give drivers confidence they can always find a place to charge, jump start private investment in charging infrastructure and electric vehicles, and support the President’s goal of at least 50% of vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.

Today, FHWA, with support from the Joint Office, unveiled new national standards for federally funded EV chargers, including NEVI-funded chargers. All 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico are participating in the NEVI program and initial investments will electrify over 75,000 miles of the national highway system. These standards will direct federal dollars to build out a national EV charging network that is user-friendly, reliable, and accessible so that charging is as easy as filling up at a gas station. Until now, there were no comprehensive standards for the installation, operation, or maintenance of EV charging stations, and disparities exist among EV charging stations in key areas, such as connector types, payment methods, data privacy, speed and power of chargers, reliability, and the overall user experience. A recent survey of EV users reported frustration with chargers that are too slow, too crowded, or that just don’t work. Under FHWA’s new standards, we are fixing this. The standards will ensure that:

    Charging is a predictable and reliable experience, by ensuring that there are consistent plug types, power levels, and a minimum number of chargers capable of supporting drivers’ fast charging needs;

    Chargers are working when drivers need them to, by requiring a 97 percent uptime reliability requirement;

    Drivers can easily find a charger when they need to, by providing publicly accessible data on locations, price, availability, and accessibility through mapping applications;

    Drivers do not have to use multiple apps and accounts to charge, by requiring that a single method of identification works across all chargers; and,

    Chargers will support drivers’ needs well into the future, by requiring compatibility with forward-looking capabilities like Plug and Charge.

The standards will also help to ensure that these historic investments in EV charging create good-paying jobs and that EV chargers are well-serviced by requiring strong workforce standards such as Registered Apprenticeships and the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP). Through the White House Talent Pipeline Challenge, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) has certified 20,000 electricians through EVITP.

Together, the standards will ensure that chargers operated by different networks operate similarly and provide the traveling public with a predictable EV charging experience – no matter what car you drive or what state you charge in.

ACCELERATING THE BUILDOUT OF EV CHARGING NETWORKS

The Biden-Harris Administration’s actions on EVs have spurred network operators to accelerate the buildout of coast-to-coast EV charging networks. Public dollars will supplement private investment by filling gaps, serving rural and hard to reach locations, and building capacity in communities. Announcements being spotlighted today will add more than 100,000 public chargers available for all EVs, and include:

    Tesla, for the first time, will open a portion of its U.S. Supercharger and Destination Charger network to non-Tesla EVs, making at least 7,500 chargers available for all EVs by the end of 2024. The open chargers will be distributed across the United States. They will include at least 3,500 new and existing 250 kW Superchargers along highway corridors to expand freedom of travel for all EVs, and Level 2 Destination Charging at locations like hotels and restaurants in urban and rural locations.  All EV drivers will be able to access these stations using the Tesla app or website. Additionally, Tesla will more than double its full nationwide network of Superchargers, manufactured in Buffalo, New York.

    Hertz and bp are announcing their intention to build out a national network of EV fast charging infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles.  Hertz and bp intend to bring charging infrastructure to Hertz locations across America, including major cities such as Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. The charging hubs will serve rideshare and taxi drivers, car rental customers and the general public at high-demand locations, such as airports. A number of installations are expected to include large-scale charging hubs, known as “gigahubs.” bp aims to invest $1 billion in EV charging in the US by 2030. Hertz’s objective is to make one-quarter of its fleet electric by the end of 2024.

    Pilot Company, General Motors, and EVgo have partnered to build a coast-to-coast network of 2,000 high power 350 kW fast chargers at Pilot and Flying J travel centers along American highways. The nationwide network of up to 500 travel centers will enable long distance EV travel by connecting urban and rural communities. Today, the companies are announcing that the first 200+ chargers in this network are expected to be available for use by drivers in 2023.

    TravelCenters of America and Electrify America announced that they will offer electric vehicle charging at select Travel Centers of America and Petro locations, with a goal of installing approximately 1,000 EV chargers at 200 locations along major highways over the next five years.

    Electrify America recently held the official groundbreaking of Electrify America Solar Glow™ 1, the new 75 MW solar PV project in San Bernardino County, CA to help back all energy delivered to EV drivers with renewable energy across more than 800 DC fast charging stations nationwide.  

    Mercedes-Benz, ChargePoint, and MN8 Energy announced a partnership to deploy over 400 charging hubs with more than 2,500 publicly accessible DC fast charging ports across the U.S. and Canada.

    ChargePoint, Volvo Cars, and Starbucks announced a partnership to deploy 60 DC fast chargers at up to 15 locations along the 1,350-mile pilot route between Seattle and Denver to be completed by summer 2023.

    General Motors, in partnership with FLO, has announced a collaborative effort with dealers to install up to 40,000 public Level 2 EV chargers in local communities by 2026 through GM’s Dealer Community Charging Program. The new charging stations will join the GM’s Ultium Charge 360 network, and will be available to all EV drivers.

    Francis Energy, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based EV charge point operator, is expanding into 40 states in 2023, with plans to install 50,000 EV charging ports by 2030 in partnership with municipalities, auto dealers, Tribal Nations, and private businesses. Currently 75% of Francis Energy’s network is in Justice40 communities.

    Forum Mobility, a zero-emission trucking solutions provider, recently announced a $400 million commitment to deploy over 1,000 DC fast-chargers. The charging infrastructure will serve the thousands of heavy-duty electric trucks projected to begin operating at the San Pedro and Oakland ports in California over the next decade. The community charging depots will create over 600 new union jobs in disadvantaged communities while reducing harmful emissions at the ports and along freight corridors.

    Ford has committed to installing at least one public-facing DC Fast charger with two ports at 1,920 Ford dealerships by January 2024.

AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE FUTURE THAT IS MADE IN AMERICA

The Build America, Buy America implementation plan for EV charging equipment reflects the success of the Biden-Harris Administration at spurring new domestic investments in the manufacture of EV fast-charging equipment.  The rapidly-expanding industry is ramping up production to make high-quality, Buy America compliant chargers, creating good jobs and helping the Unites States strengthen its leadership in clean energy manufacturing.  That strategy will ensure that electric vehicle chargers purchased through the NEVI program will be assembled in the United States, effective immediately, and fully compliant with Build America, Buy America requirements for manufactured products by July 1, 2024 to support investments in the supply chain consistent with an aggressive expansion of domestic manufacturing.

Today’s announcement is a tool to promote domestic production. The Build America, Buy America requirements for EV charging equipment will help revitalize our manufacturing base. The phased approach to these requirements will incentivize companies to invest in domestic production of EV charging components, positioning U.S. workers and businesses to compete and lead globally while providing a transition period for companies to onshore their supply chains.  In order to meet the requirements of the Build America, Buy America Act, domestic manufacturing is ramping up aggressively.  The Office of Management and Budget’s new Made in America Office is working with agency experts, labor and industry to implement industrial strategy by incentivizing greater U.S. manufacturing in key sectors.

    Domestic assembly requirements for electric vehicle charging equipment will be effective immediately. This ensures that all electric vehicle charging equipment supported by federal funds supports American jobs and American technological leadership.

    FHWA’s Buy America requirements will be effective immediately for EV charger enclosures and housing predominantly of steel or iron.  This means that all manufacturing processes for these enclosures, from melting and pouring through the final application of coatings, must occur in the United States. 

    Beginning July 1, 2024, FHWA will require that the cost of components manufactured domestically for EV charging equipment must meet the Build America, Buy America Act’s requirement of at least 55 percent domestic content for manufactured products, consistent with an ambitious build out of this new industry.

    In order to ensure that chargers installed during the bulk of the NEVI program are fully compliant with the requirement under the Build America, Buy America Act of 55 percent domestic content, any equipment that does not meet that standard must be installed no later than October 1, 2024.

Federal agencies and states are standing up processes to implement and track Made in America requirements to ensure that federally-funded infrastructure projects use American-made iron, steel, construction materials, and manufactured products. Our success in creating an EV charging equipment industry nearly from scratch demonstrates what Made in America policies can do to build a manufacturing base.

MANUFACTURING BOOM

The Biden economic agenda has ignited a manufacturing boom.  Made in America requirements have already sent a strong signal to the market that federal dollars will be spent on products that are produced and sourced in the United States – and industry has responded. Since the President took office, companies have announced more than $100 billion in manufacturing investments for EVs, batteries and chargers.

A recent report found that private sector investment in EVs and related infrastructure in the United States is now surpassing China and other nations for the first time. Three years ago, there was little American footprint in the advanced EV charging industry. Now, producers are making investments to establish new headquarters, facilities, or production lines to build the next generation of EV chargers in the United States. For six of these companies, these investments represent their first U.S. manufacturing footprint.

Investments include:

    Tritium DCFC Limited, an Australian-based EV fast charger producer, held a grand opening in August for its first US-based factory, located in Lebanon, Tennessee. The facility will produce up to 30,000 DC fast chargers per year at peak capacity. Today, Tritium announced it will add more than 250 jobs to this facility, for a total of more than 750 cleantech jobs at the company’s Lebanon factory. Tritium is a participant in the White House Talent Pipeline Challenge, a nationwide initiative to create equitable job opportunities in growing industries.

    Electrify America last year announced a new investment of $450 million into its charging network by Siemens, a global technology and electrification company, and Volkswagen Group. These investments will support the rapid deployment of up to 10,000 ultra-fast chargers at 1,800 charging stations, in the U.S. and Canada by 2026.

    ChargePoint is expanding its partnership with SMTC Corporation to expand DCFC production, establish a manufacturing line for Level 2 chargers at their Milpitas, CA facility, and create approximately 250 new manufacturing jobs. The expanded facility will be able to produce 10,000 DCFC chargers and 10,000 Level 2 chargers by 2026.

    Wallbox, a Spanish-based provider of EV charging and energy management solutions worldwide, opened its first North American manufacturing facility in Arlington, TX. The $70 million, 150,000 square foot facility has the capacity to produce over 250,000 units in 2023 and over one million in 2030, including its next-gen Hypernova DC Fast Chargers. The facility will support 250 high-paying jobs by 2025 and 700 jobs by 2030.

    SK Signet, a South Korean-based EV charging company specializing in ultra-fast charging infrastructure, is building its first American manufacturing facility in Plano, TX. By 2026, SK Signet expects to be producing up to 10,000 DC Fast chargers annually and will support 183 highly-skilled jobs.

    ADS-Tec Energy, a German-based provider of battery powered EV Charging stations, will invest $8 million in building its first U.S. facility to perform assembly, sales, warehousing, and servicing in Auburn, AL. The facility is expected to create more than 180 jobs.

    EVBox, a Netherlands-based EV charging manufacturer, announced plans for its first North American headquarters and production facility in Libertyville, IL. The 60,000 square foot facility aims to produce around 200 units of DC fast charging per week – a level of production expected to create between 80-120 new jobs in the immediate region.

    FreeWire announced a new 66,000 square foot global headquarters in Newark, CA, a $20 million investment that will focus on R&D and manufacturing of ultrafast EV charging equipment and more than 200 well-paying engineering and manufacturing jobs in electrification and clean energy across the community.

    ABB E-Mobility recently commenced production of DC Fast Chargers from its new facility in Columbia, SC. This $4 million investment follows previous commitments to add 125 jobs across its operations at its Sugarland, Texas training center and Southern California product development and research facility.

    Siemens has expanded its electric vehicle (EV) charging manufacturing footprint with the recent selection of Carrollton, Texas, to serve as its second U.S. EV charger manufacturing hub. This announcement builds on the more than $140 million Siemens has newly invested across its electrical products manufacturing sites in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Pomona, California, facilities that serve critical infrastructure markets and support union jobs.  The new facility, expected to be fully operational in Spring 2023. Siemens is also a partnering with the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) by developing curriculum to ensure a skilled talent pipeline of American EV charger installation workers.

    EverCharge, a provider of turnkey EV charging solutions, is opening a new 30,000 square foot production factory in Hayward, CA and plans to double its factory workforce by mid-2023. 

    Lincoln Electric, long-time welding giant, has announced a new product line of DC fast chargers that leverages core manufacturing and engineering capabilities in power supply technology at its facility in Cleveland, Ohio.      

    FLO, a North American EV charging network operator and smart charging solutions provider, announced a $3 million investment in its first U.S. assembly facility located in Auburn Hills, Michigan earlier this month. By 2028, the facility will help FLO bring 250,000 charging stations to American drivers, create, and support upwards of 730 jobs, and bolster Michigan’s economy by $76 million.

    EdgeEnergy will be investing $150 million in the Ohio economy to build 3 phase power converters for DC Fast Chargers, adding 60 new manufacturing and engineering jobs over the next 24 months.

    Blink will expand its Bowie, Maryland facility by 30,000sq ft, investing $49M over 10 years and create 60 new jobs to produce L2 Chargers. Additionally, in 2023, Blink will announce a new 200,000sq ft. manufacturing plant for DC fast chargers investing a total $156M over 10yrs, creating 160 new jobs. 

Other companies and networks are working to ensure EV chargers are well-maintained:

    ChargerHelp! and SAE International’s Sustainable Mobility Solutions have announced a partnership to assist in the EV charging workforce development for the next generation of Certified Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) Maintenance Technicians. The EVSE Field Technician Program will certify skills needed by EVSE field technicians to diagnose, report and help repair technical components of the charging equipment, including hardware and software issues. Within the next two years, this national program will help more than 3,000 trainees from low-income, disadvantaged, typically underrepresented communities, and those transitioning from other industries reach these technology-forward jobs;

    Mercedes-Benz USA and the Department of Labor announced a national partnership to create pathways for students from 16 to 24 years of age toward good-paying jobs as auto technicians, including potential employment with Mercedes-Benz.  Job Corps will now offer students opportunities to study high-voltage and electric vehicles, and training opportunities with high-voltage vehicles at the following campuses: Earle C. Clements Job Corps in Morganfield, Kentucky; Westover Job Corps in Chicopee, Massachusetts; Edison Job Corps in Edison, New Jersey; and Clearfield Job Corps in Clearfield, Utah.  The Job Corps network currently has 121 centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; and,

    Qmerit, a provider of Distributed Workforce Management solutions for EV charging and other electrification technologies in North America, plans to perform over 120,000 EV and electrification jobs at residential and mid-market commercial properties in 2023. This expansion builds on the more than 250,000 Level 2 charging systems and hundreds of thousands of related electrification technologies that Qmerit has installed to date. In addition, Qmerit will facilitate access to EVITP training and certification for its network of over 12,000 electricians through the Qmerit Resource Center. This platform helps grow a diverse and climate-conscious workforce by connecting small- and medium-size electrical contractors, more than 15% of which are minority and disadvantaged businesses, with individuals looking to begin or repurpose their careers in the electric and EV sectors.