A new update shows that the federal government is set to begin using a $5 billion investment to help states add to a nationwide electric vehicle (EV) network.
The U.S. government plans to establish an EV charging network that includes four fast-chargers within every 50 miles, according to Ars Technica.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg also added that the program needed to make sure the “citizen is getting good value out of it,” since it will be paid for by taxpayers.
GM Plans EV Fast Chargers Powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells https://t.co/bhFsq2ZpZP
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) January 20, 2022
In the statement, Buttigieg told Car and Driver, “We’re taking a good look at this.” Buttigieg continued, “Part of this program is going to be a shared standard. If we’re going to use taxpayers’ dollars to help private actors put in charging stations, then of course we need to make sure the citizen is getting good value out of it. There may be any number of network benefits through loyalty programs. That’s fine. But we’ve got to make sure everybody can benefit.”
The plan largely focuses on the interstates, and the chargers themselves must be able to offer up to 150 kW of charging speed for four electric vehicles simultaneously.
It remains unclear how payment would work for charging, as currently no standard is in place for charging networks. EV owners need to have various apps for setting up charging and payment–unless you’re a Tesla owner at a Supercharger that supports plug and play with automatic billing.
In December, President Joe Biden also detailed plans for 500,000 EV charging stations in the U.S.
