Biden EV charging network

The U.S. Department of Transportation Biden EV charging network and the Biden administration on Wednesday established a set of requirements for charging hardware — and charging network behavior — that all companies looking to claim federal funds in building the $7.5 billion national electric car charging network must submit to. Even Tesla.

The final requirements add to the administration’s ”Build America, Buy America” ​​approach, and they are requirements like any of the federally approved, state-designated processes that grant companies any of the $5 billion designated for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funding will have to follow.

NEVI is actually the policy name for the national EV charging network that will eventually include 500,000 chargers, both along highways and within communities. The grid is a key part of the two-part infrastructure law, which includes electric car charging within its $650 billion investment through 2026 that includes traditional infrastructure as well as roads, bridges and public transit. Of that, the law includes $7.5 billion in electric car charging, $10 billion for various clean transportation projects and more than $7 billion for electric car batteries, critical minerals and related materials.

This federal network mandates chargers spaced 50 miles apart along designated corridors, with DC fast chargers all in the CCS format that most non-Tesla EVs use. These latest rules ensure that all EV chargers purchased through the NEVI program – effective immediately – are assembled in the US, while the stricter rules will go into effect on July 1, 2024, ensuring at least 55% domestic content ( by cost). ) in these products. To claim NEVI funding, any equipment that does not fully meet the higher content requirement must be installed before then.

The Biden administration notes investments in electric car chargers from Tritium, Electrify America, Siemens, Charge Point, FLO, Wallbox, SK Signet, ABB Mobility and others. Tesla’s Supercharger hardware, for example, is already manufactured in Buffalo, New York.

Part of different networks Biden EV charging network

The federally funded rollout will not be on a coordinated network from a consumer perspective. However, to help even out the level of incoherence, the rules provide clarity on certain network and hardware aspects.

One of these is some extra clarity in the charger’s operating time. ”The final rule also establishes that each charging port must have an average annual uptime greater than 97 percent,” according to the DOT language, with the decision to round the uptime to the nearest minute rather than hour.

New rules will also apply to reporting power, real-time port status, real-time customer price and historical uptime. All such stations must be ”physically accessible to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year round.”

The rules don’t limit the ability for charging networks to charge lower prices for members, or those with specific models, so it could potentially allow for a structure like what Tesla CEO Elon Musk proposed in 2021, allowing the company to charge extra for slower-charging electric cars.

Payment methods cannot require a membership for use or ”delay, restrict or limit the flow of power to vehicles on the basis of payment method or membership.” They must also comply with data privacy regulations Biden EV charging network,

As part of the announcement, the administration highlighted a series of electric vehicle investments from Tesla, GM, EVgo, Pilot, Hertz and BP as among those “announcing new commitments to expand their networks with thousands of public charging stations over the next two years.”

Examples include Hertz and BP and its announced intention to roll out charging hubs to serve car drivers and car rental customers; the coast-to-coast 350-kw network from GM and EVgo, at pilot sites with more than 200 chargers on the way by 2023; Electrify America’s plans to install 1,000 chargers at 200 TravelCenters of America locations over five years; Mercedes-Benz network plan for more than 400 charging hubs with 2,500 public fast charging ports; and the Seattle-Denver fast charging network from Volvo and Starbucks.

For context, it’s worth noting that most or all of these announced investments to date have been made regardless of whether they receive NEVI funds or not.

Reality check on Tesla’s role

According to the administration, Tesla plans to open up ”a portion” of its network of superchargers and destination chargers for non-Tesla EVs, making 7,500 chargers available for ”all EVs” by the end of 2024.

According to the US Department of Energy, Tesla currently has 19,385 ports – roughly equal to what the DOT document considers chargers – when combining the two charger types. So this would be a significant part of Tesla’s charging network as a whole, but definitely a subset of it.

The federal government says that number will include at least 3,500 new and existing 250-kw Superchargers along highway corridors.

It also notes Tesla’s plans to double its nationwide network of Superchargers, though it doesn’t mention a specific timeline and this doesn’t appear to be in addition to previously announced Tesla goals for growth — like Tesla’s October 2021 goal to triple the size of Superchargers — network in two years.

Does this mean Tesla will greatly expand its Supercharger network as part of the federal network? Probably not. But it’s conceivable that Tesla could sandbox part of its charging network into a NEVI-compliant part and a non-NEVI-compliant part Biden EV charging network.

Now, as the rule pretty much explains, it’s time to build.