The United States has just surpassed the 183,000 threshold in public electric vehicle charger deployment, making EV ownership more convenient and enjoyable.
Number of public chargers nearly doubled in just 3 years
According to recent data from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, the US public electric vehicle charging network now has more than 183,000 charging ports.
Over 13,000 electric vehicle charging ports joined the country’s EV charging network in the past three months alone. The number has increased by nearly twofold compared to January 2021.
The data further indicated that Level 2 plugs, with 140,387 units, account for the largest number of public electric vehicle chargers in the US. Notably, these chargers require a 240-volt connection, enabling 6kW to 19 kW of output. Depending on the capacity, charging an empty electric vehicle battery can take anywhere from 4 hours to 10 hours.
On the other hand, the number of DC fast charging stations is three times fewer than the number of Level 2 plugs, at 43,166. These fast chargers yield hundreds of kilowatts of power, making them more in demand on long trips.
However, the data also revealed that there are 9,000+ temporarily unavailable chargers. Of that total, DC fast chargers account for 8,697, while Level 2 plugs list 775 units.
In addition, the Joint Office registered 232 Level 1 charging stations with 873 plugs. They utilize 120-volt connections and yield less than 6 kW of power.
It is also worth noting that the most publicly available plugs are as follows:
- J1772 variety – 130,087 ports
- Tesla’s NACS – 36,499 ports
- CCS – 16,925 ports
- CHAdeMO – 8,687 ports
EV charging infrastructure to continue expanding in the US
The current number of public electric vehicle chargers in the US is expected to grow further in the coming years.
The US government has committed to investing billions of dollars to develop at least 500,000 electric vehicle chargers nationwide by the end of the decade under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.
As per the Joint Office, 36 US states have already released at least their initial NEVI solicitations round. Of these, 23 states have granted conditional awards or set deals for over 550 charging stations. Of each of the stations, there would be at least four DC fast charging ports available.
Four states, including Maine, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Ohio, have already advanced in Round 2 of releasing conditional awards. Wisconsin was the first state to release funding to Tribal Nations for NEVI charging stations.
Rapid charging infrastructure expansion paves way for broader EV adoption
The US’ continuous expansion of its public electric vehicle charging network significantly alleviates drivers’ anxiety about running out of power while still on the road.
As a result, EVs become a practical choice for longer travels and everyday commutes.
In addition, the increasing number of public EV chargers eliminates one of the major barriers impeding the wider shift to electric vehicles.
