Biden Announces $900 Million to Boost Electric Vehicle Charging

President Joe Biden announced in a speech today that $900 million of federal funding will go towards increasing the number of electric vehicle chargers nationwide. This funding is the first chunk of money allocated to building EV chargers from a $1 trillion Mspartisan infrastructure loh signed last year.

Electric vehicles in the US sales hit a record high of 208,411 in the first quarter 2022but the charging infrastructure needed to support all these vehicles is lagging behind. Biden took the stage at the 2022 Detroit Auto Show on Wednesday to announce $900 million in federal funding towards developing the country’s electric vehicle charging network as part of the infrastructure bill passed last November that secured $1 trillion for improvements to transportation, broadband internet, water systems, and more.

“Today, I’m pleased to announce we’re approving funding for the first 35 states, including Michigan, to build their own electric charging infrastructure throughout their state,” Biden said in his speech.. “The great American road trip is going to be electrified.”

The infrastructure bill allotted a total of $7.5 billion for the expansion of the electric vehicle charging network, and this $900 million is just the first wave of funding. Biden reiterated his goal of 500,000 total chargers by 2030, which would be installed by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a labor union of over 775,000 electrical workers.

According to the US Department of Energy, there are only 46,570 electric vehicle chargers open to the public in the United States, just below 10% of Biden’s goal. Biden is also interested in getting more people behind the wheel of electric vehicles with a separate goal of up to 50% of new car sales being electric vehicles by 2030, by investing in US manufacturing of electric vehicles to increase the American supply.