US EV charging funds must unlock at least $75B in private capital – coalition

U.S. President Joe Biden's recent signing of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill could unleash a coast-to-coast build-out of America's underdeveloped charging network to serve its fast-multiplying population of electric cars, trucks and buses.

But the new law's $7.5 billion for alternative fuels corridors and a nationwide electric vehicle charging network must be designed to attract at least $75 billion in private investment, according to an organizer of a major EV charging coalition.

"It's hard to say whether $7.5 billion is a sufficient jump start, but it's got a lot more voltage or amps ... than we've had up until now," Nancy Ryan, a partner at eMobility Advisors and an organizer of the National EV Charging Initiative, said in an interview. The coalition comprises 34 regional and national groups representing utilities, state regulators, automakers, charging specialists, environmental groups and other stakeholders.

More important than the size of the federal government's commitment is that the funds and their implementation "bring in 10 times or more in private sector capital," Ryan said.

S&P Global Market Intelligence estimates that annual sales of full-electric and plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles in the U.S. will jump from roughly 300,000 in 2020 to nearly 550,000 in 2021 and more than 1 million by 2024. Despite such rising demand for EVs, the public charging network is riddled with gaps.

Guiding principles emphasize collaboration

The National EV Charging Initiative issued guiding principles Nov. 17 aimed at making the most of a "more muscular federal role" in filling those gaps. The seven-point plan includes "a new level of collaboration among all stakeholders" that would lean heavily on initiatives already underway at the state and local levels. Investor-owned utilities, state and municipal governments, technology providers, and environmental justice advocates have been working on the finer points of implementing increasingly large programs for years.

"A lot has been going on in the states," said Ryan, a former member of the California Energy Commission, pointing to settlements with Volkswagen AG over its diesel emissions scandal as a catalyst for programs already up and running.

Leveraging those funds, California energy regulators and utilities have set in motion hundreds of millions of dollars in EV charging investments in the Golden State, where EVs and their charging infrastructure are proliferating fastest. In 2021, Edison International subsidiary Southern California Edison Co. and PG&E Corp. utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co. — the state's two largest electric utilities — scaled up major programs.

Significant initiatives are also underway in the Northeast.

State regulators across the country will be "instrumental" in shaping the flow of federal money seeking to stitch together the regional hubs, Ryan said.

Some state-approved programs have carved out EV charging funds for low-income communities that have suffered most from automotive air pollution, a model that must be replicated in the nationwide rollout, according to the coalition.

"We really want to make this transition in a way that is inclusive," Ryan said.