In the United States, there will be around 108,000 public charging outlets by 2021. That’s approximately one charging outlet for every gas station in the United States, where there are an estimated 111,000 to 150,000 of them – a significant increase in EV charging ports is required.
More than 2 million electric vehicles (EVs) are now registered in the United States. By research from the United States Department of Energy, the optimal ratio of electric vehicles to charging stations is 40 Level 2 charging ports and 3.4 DC fast chargers (DCFC) per 1,000 electric vehicles, according to the report. (A DCFC charger, for example, often has three ports.)
Currently, there are 41 Level 2 charging ports and 5.7 DCFC charging ports per 1,000 electric vehicles (EVs), which equates to around 21 EVs per charging point.
While there are 2,514 gasoline vehicles per gasoline station, the ratio is acceptable since internal combustion engine vehicles now have a greater range than electric vehicles.
However, the range of electric vehicles is rapidly growing. EV models like the Tesla Model S can travel as far as 405 miles on a single charge, and Mercedes unveiled the Vision EQXX concept car at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, which has a range of 648 miles on a single charge, according to the car insurance comparison website Jerry, for example.
Lucid’s Air can travel more than 500 kilometers on a single charge. With an estimated 35 million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2030, a new study from Jerry estimates that the United States will need to construct around 478 charging stations per day for the next eight years to develop the required infrastructure to serve them.
Even if 90 percent or more of electric vehicle owners charge their vehicles at home, additional public charging stations are still required for city and apartment/condo residents, as well as for lengthy excursions that exceed the range of the vehicle’s battery.
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When asked why they corresponded charging piers to gas stations instead than pumps, Lakshmi Iyengar, the data scientist at Jerry, responded to Electrek that they did so because:
We feel that the port number is a more appropriate comparison when considering the ratio of EVs to ICE cars on the road. Furthermore, most EV owners have access to home charging, while ICE car owners cannot fuel their vehicles at home.
In addition to the government drive for EV chargers – the Biden Infrastructure Law targets 500,000 outlets by 2030 – there is also a push on the business side to boost the number of charging stations available to employees and customers.
As a result, EV charging points will exceed the number of petrol stations, progressively decreasing over the last 20 years.
One of the collaborations announced today is EOS Linx, which provides solar-powered stations with electric vehicle chargers, and Choice Hotels International, which operates over 6,000 franchised hotels in the United States under brands such as EconoLodge and Quality Inn. The EOS Charge Stations will be installed at select properties by Choice Hotels International.
During the first quarter, the initial stage of EOS Charge Stations will be implemented at chosen resorts in Atlanta, and Nashville, with the second set to follow later in the year. We provide Level 2 chargers and fast chargers with various capabilities based on the worldwide J1772 standard system from EOS Linx.
Furthermore, the convenience store company 7-Eleven has committed to installing 500 DCFC charging points by the end of 2022 as part of its commitment to sustainability. At the moment, it only has 22 charging stations spread across 14 locations in four different states.