[JACK AYLMER]
CHINA LEADS THE WORLD WHEN IT COMES TO EV ADOPTION, SO IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE THEY ALSO OUTPACE OTHER COUNTRIES IN CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE PRC CURRENTLY HAS AROUND $2.3 MILLION ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS, ROUGHLY ONE FOR EVERY SEVEN EVS IN THE COUNTRY.
THE EUROPEAN UNION COMES IN AT A DISTANCE SECOND – WITH ROUGHLY HALF A MILLION CHARGES ACROSS ITS MEMBER STATES.
ONE FOR EVERY TEN VEHICLES.
AND AS FOR THE U.S.?
WE’VE CURRENTLY GOT AROUND 130,000.
THE MATH BREAKS DOWN TO ABOUT ONE CHARGER FOR EVERY 18 CARS.
IT’S NOT JUST QUANTITY WHERE CHINA HAS US BEAT BUT QUALITY TOO.
ON AVERAGE, CHARGING PORTS IN THE U.S. AND E.U. GENERATE A LITTLE OVER ONE KILOWATT PER EV, WHILE CHINESE DRIVERS GET NEARLY FOUR KILOWATTS PER EV.
THAT DIFFERENCE IN ENERGY IS EQUAL TO POWERING ABOUT 17 STANDARD LIGHT BULBS VERSUS 67 OF THEM.
IN TOTAL, ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF THE WORLD’S PUBLIC EV CHARGERS RESIDE IN CHINA, INCLUDING THE LARGEST CHARGING STATION ON THE PLANET.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE PLANS IN BOTH THE U.S. AND EUROPE TO MAKE UP SOME GROUND.
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO INSTALL HALF A MILLION CHARGERS BY THE END OF THE DECADE, PUTTING $7.5 BILLION DOLLARS TOWARDS THE EFFORT.
IT MAY BE JUST A FRACTION OF WHAT WILL ACTUALLY BE NEEDED IN THE STATES.
THE NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LAB ESTIMATES THAT IN ORDER TO MEET ANTICIPATED CHARGING NEEDS BY 2030, AN INVESTMENT OF BETWEEN $31 AND $55 BILLION DOLLARS WILL BE NEEDED.
AS FOR THE EU – A NEW LAW AIMS TO BLANKET ITS HIGHWAYS WITH EV CHARGERS, MANDATING THEY BE INSTALLED EVERY THIRTY SEVEN MILES ALONG THE TRANS-EUROPEAN TRANSPORT NETWORK, THE CONTINENT’S MAIN TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR.
THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION FOR TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT HOPES THIS AND OTHER INITIATIVES WILL HELP THE BLOC REACH THREE MILLION CHARGERS PROJECTED TO BE NEEDED BY 2030.
BUT, AS WITH THE U.S., THOSE PLANS MAY NOT RESULT IN ENOUGH CHARGERS TO MEET ANTICIPATED DEMAND.
THE EUROPEAN AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION BELIEVES CLOSE TO SEVEN MILLION CHARGERS WILL BE NEEDED BY THAT DATE.