The Biden Administration is aiming to make EV charging as easy and safe as filling up a tank of gas. Through the U.S. Department of Transportation, there wasn’t universal standards for EV charging stations and attempt to make EV charging more secure and safe. President Biden hopes to have 500,000 EV charging stations across the United States by year 2030. As of 2023, there are approximately 160,000 stations in the network. There will be guidelines set into place that will apply to all federally funded EV charging stations. The set of standards will apply to charging port type, infrastructure set up and how EV drivers will pay for their charge.

“This is a major step toward a world where every EV user will be able to find safe, reliable charging stations anywhere in the country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We’re establishing common, universal standards for EV charging stations just like the ones for gas stations, so that recharging an EV away from home will be as predictable and accessible as filling up a gas tank.”

The different make and models of EV charging stations have varying ways that drivers have to pay. By standardizing payment methods, drivers will not face as much difficulty paying to charge their vehicles between different charging stations.

Right now, there are a few different versions of the plugs used to charge electric vehicles. Tesla has their own model of charging station ports, and there are two other models, CCS and ChaDeMo, that are used by other EV charging stations. Pushing EV automakers to agree on one type of plug for the car models or having charging stations keep all types of plugs will help make EV charging easier for drivers.

Click here to read the full article, originally published February 17, 2023 by Route Fifty.