President Biden announced the approval of the first $900 million in funding to build electric vehicle charging stations in 35 states as part of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill at the Detroit Auto Show on Wednesday, September 14th. This funding is part of the bipartisan infrastructure law and the plan to build chargers across 53,000 miles of the country’s highway system.
The White House memo includes the growth in domestic EV, charger, and battery manufacturing and the new requirements for domestic vehicle and battery production for tax credit qualification established in the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in August.
“Since President Biden took office, companies like Toyota, Honda, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Panasonic have announced investments of nearly $85 billion to make electric vehicles, batteries and EV chargers across America, including in North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri and Kansas,” a White House official said in a statement.
The federal government under Biden is helping to drive the demand in the EV market, which is projected to grow from $28.24 billion in 2021 to $137.43 billion in 2028. The executive order Biden signed in December is also directing the government to purchase nearly all EV or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by 2027.
EV acquisitions more than doubled during Biden’s first year and this charging infrastructure buildout should spur EV adoption and advance electrification. As more chargers become available on the road, charging stations may be as easy to find as gas stations. As the government continues to put money behind electric vehicle charging, we should continue to see a spike in EVs on the road and drivers who are more willing to go electric.
