New report finds announced charging infrastructure installations are poised to keep up with an accelerated U.S. transition to BEVs

(Washington, DC) March 13, 2024 — The International Council on Clean Transportation has released a report analyzing key questions about how many chargers are needed to support increased sales of electric light-duty vehicles in the United States, and whether the deployment of charging infrastructure announced as of 2023 is sufficient to meet this need.

Based on estimates of potential market growth from the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) could make up 67% of new U.S. light-duty vehicle sales in 2032. This market growth could mean that 55 million electric passenger cars will be on the road. The ICCT analyzed more than 160 announcements about charger installations or investments in charging infrastructure by various stakeholders, including federal and state governments, charging infrastructure providers, automakers, retail companies, and utilities. The report offers an extensive account of these announced charging infrastructure deployments through 2030 and compares these findings to updated modeling of charging needs.

According to the report, announcements of charging infrastructure deployments indicate the U.S. is on track to meet the charging needs of a burgeoning BEV fleet, marking a promising sign for the transition to clean vehicles. The report finds that a total of 164,000 new DC fast chargers and 1.5 million new Level 2 chargers could be deployed at public locations and workplaces by 2030. This total includes explicit commitments from private stakeholders to deploy approximately 74,000 DC fast chargers and about 265,000 Level 2 chargers by 2030. The report also estimates that nonspecific announcements from these stakeholders will lead to an additional 91,000 DC fast chargers and 1.25 million Level 2 chargers by 2030. Charging announcements from the federal government, states, and utilities could potentially supply up to 47,000 and 579,000 additional new DC fast and Level 2 chargers, respectively, although it is unclear whether these announcements may overlap with announcements from private stakeholders.

As of 2023, the announcements make up a substantial share of non-home chargers needed by 2030. The impending BEV fleet will require about 2.6 million Level 2 chargers at public locations and workplaces and about 108,000 DC fast chargers in 2030. Comparing these needs with announcements, the report finds that announced charging deployments from private stakeholders could cover about 182% of the needed public DC fast chargers and about 62% of the needed public and workplace Level 2 chargers in 2030. With the inclusion of potential additional chargers from government and utility stakeholders, announced deployments could provide about 225% of the needed public DC fast chargers and about 84% of the needed public and workplace Level 2 chargers.

Figure ES1. Non-home EV chargers needed by 2030 compared with announced deployments

“The transition to electric vehicles in the United States requires continued growth in charging infrastructure deployment. The good news is announcements of future deployment already sum up to most of what we find is needed by 2030” said Logan Pierce, Associate Researcher at the ICCT.

Continued commitment and collaboration among stakeholders will be essential to sustain this momentum, and it is likely that additional charging deployment will be announced in the years ahead. Considering the proliferation of announcements, the results of the ICCT’s study highlight the promising position of U.S. charging deployment to keep up with estimates of potential market growth from EPA’s proposed Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards, an encouraging sign for the continued transition to BEVs.

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Media Contact:
Jessica Peyton, Regional Communications Specialist, communications@theicct.org 

Publication details: Assessment of U.S. electric vehicle charging needs and announced deployments through 2032 
Authors: Logan Pierce, Peter Slowik 
Download: theicct.org/publication/assessment-of-US-ev-charging-needs-and-announced-deployment-through-2032-mar24   

About the International Council on Clean Transportation 
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) is an independent research organization providing first-rate, unbiased research and technical and scientific analysis to environmental regulators. Our mission is to improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of road, marine, and air transportation, in order to benefit public health and mitigate climate change. Founded in 2001, we are a nonprofit organization working under grants and contracts from private foundations and public institutions. 

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