The Biden administration released new standards for its planned electric vehicle charging national network, with its ultimate goal to establish 500,000 EV chargers across U.S. highways by 2030.
There are currently over 130,000 public chargers in the U.S., according to the White House.
Passed under administration's Build Back Better agenda--which aims to rebuild the middle class through boosting domestic manufacturing and investments in climate initiatives--the recent $1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $7.5 billion in EV charging.
The White House has now updated what qualifes for funding under the bill, with requirements including that all EV chargers funded through government investments must be fully built in the U.S. That means that all final assembly and manufacturing for any iron or steel charger housing must take place domestically, The White House also requires at least 55% of all EV charger components to be American made by July 2024.
All chargers also are required to use a standardized payment system that enables payments from smartphones without multiple accounts or apps, must be easy to locate through mapping applications like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) or Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Maps and provide price and availability to users, and charging must be predictable and reliable.
Moreover, all chargers are required to use the dominant U.S. standard for charging connectors, known as "Combined Charging System" or CCS. This is a notable issue for EV leader Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) as the carmaker uses a proprietary connector in its U.S. Supercharger network that only Tesla vehicles can use.
In effort to work with the White House, and qualify for funding, Tesla will update at least 7,500 chargers in its U.S. network to be compatible with all EVs by the end of 2024, the White House said. All EV drivers will be able to locate and access the Tesla chargers through the company's smartphone app or website, and at least 3,500 new and existing chargers will be along U.S. highways. Tesla also plans to double its nationwide EV charger network, with the chargers being manufactured in Buffalo, New York.
"In building our EV charging network, we have to ensure that as many chargers work for as many drivers as possible," Biden wrote on Twitter. "To that end, [Elon Musk] will open a big part of [Tesla's] network up to all drivers. That's a big deal, and it'll make a big difference."
Tesla isn't the only automaker looking to benefit from the Biden administration's spending package. Detroit automaker General Motors (NYSE: GM) has partnered with Pilot Company and EVgo (NASDAQ: EVGO) to build a coast-to-coast network of 2,000 350 kW fast chargers at Pilot and Flying J travel centers along U.S. highways. GM is also seeking to install up to 40,000 public EV chargers in local communities across the U.S. and Canada by 2026 in partnership with Canadian EV charging network Flo.
Hertz (NASDAQ: HTZ) and BP (NYSE: BP) have teamed up to build an EV charging infrastructure at Hertz locations across America, including major cities like Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The planned charging hubs will serve rideshare and taxi drivers, car rental customers, and the general public at high-demand locations. BP aims to invest $1 billion in EV charging by 2030.
Electric services company ChargePoint (NYSE: CHPT) has previously launched multiple deals with Mercedes-Benz (OTC: MBGYY) and Goldman Sachs' (NYSE: GS) MN8 Energy, as well as Volvo Cars (OTC: VLVLY) and Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to deploy hundreds of DC fast chargers in the U.S. and Canada.
Ford (NYSE: F) has committed to installing at least one DC fast charger with two ports at 1,920 of its dealerships by January 2024.