Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to launch collaborative national electric vehicle charging network driver
Created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation intends to gather collaborators to develop a national electric vehicle charging network, and it will do so with the support of multiple federal departments and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Together with colleagues at the Idaho National Lab and members of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), NREL researchers will add expertise in electrified transportation systems to the equation. As the Joint Office, these experts will help state-level efforts install, operate, and maintain up to 500,000 EV chargers – enough to support tens of millions of EVs.
“The Joint Office is the catalyst for enabling transportation electrification in the United States, as well as more broadly supporting the decarbonization of transportation infrastructure,” Alex Schroeder, an NREL manager in the Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences and interim executive lead for the Joint Office, said. “This is a multi-agency effort to combine capabilities, engage stakeholders, and ensure the best ideas are brought forward.”
Up to $7.5 billion were allotted for the effort by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). These funds will specifically benefit deployment focused on corridors and communities, as well as plugging gaps in rural connection, disadvantaged communities, and hard-to-reach areas. The Joint Office will be able to suggest a mix of fast and slow chargers to fit the appropriateness and convenience of given areas. It will also offer technical assistance, from state plan guidance and review to tools and resources, along with best practices for addressing equity concerns. Guidance and resources will also be supplied for workforce training and certification to get the jobs needed to operate and maintain this infrastructure.
“States have expressed interest in having access to experts who have been working on this for years to help with this effort,” Johanna Levene, another group manager in NREL’s Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences, said. “Our team has extensive experience working with data through the AFDC and working with networks of people through Clean Cities coalitions. Integrating those two pieces together is critical to address the real problems that exist in our communities.”
Levene leads a team that manages the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC), source of the Alternative Fueling Station Locator, a mapping tool that helps drivers find public EV charging stations and alternative fueling infrastructure throughout North America. At the Joint Office, her team will provide coordination for a national charging network and develop the guidance and requirements for accessible charging infrastructure.
