EV charging networks plug back into Biden bucks
It’s been a tough road for electric car charging networks in the U.S., but they have tapped into a new, old customer: the federal government.
Dollars from the $5 billion infrastructure program that Joe Biden’s White House crafted to speed EV adoption and cut emissions are flowing again after the Trump Administration froze the funds at the start of this year. In June, a federal court overturned the suspension and states hustled to revamp their charging plans.
In recent weeks, more than 40 states have solicited or signed contracts to build new electric car charging stations in rural areas, underserved cities and other places where they might not have otherwise made economic sense, according to Rick Wilmer, chief executive officer of ChargePoint Holdings Inc., one of the country’s largest networks.
“It’s kind of a return to where it was before it was paused,” Wilmer said. “For us, it feels pretty good.”
Contracts from the federal program – dubbed NEVI – helped the company beat earnings estimates in the third quarter. ChargePoint surged as much as 16% on Friday, the most in intraday trading since late July.
While at least $3.3 billion has been allocated to states to build chargers, much of that is only starting to trickle down to the companies that install and operate EV stations. The program initially called for up to 500,000 charging ports, but only 384 stations were switched on by April.
After the federal freeze was lifted in June, the government overhauled the program to streamline applications and slashed rules around how the charging money could be deployed. States, in turn, rushed to update the proposals required to get the federal funding.
“If Congress is requiring the federal government to support charging stations, let’s cut the waste and do it right,” US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the time.
By the end of September, states had awarded contracts for another 990 stations, according to Atlas Public Policy. For charging networks, that business couldn’t come at a better time. The sales of electric cars have swooned since federal EV purchase subsidies expired in September.
That said, before the subsidies vanished, there was a rush to buy electric cars and charging executives contend the market for electrons is still underserved.
Wilmer said charging networks continue to benefit from a strong market for used EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Altogether, there are almost 20 million cars and trucks in the US that now run on electrons, nearly 6.5% of all vehicles on the road, according to BloombergNEF.
“Demand is kind of steady in North America; it’s not booming, but it’s there,” Wilmer said. “And we’re very convinced that EVs are just better products than internal combustion vehicles. And in the end, the better product is going to win.”