48 Electric-Car Charging Corridors Have Now Been Designated on U.S. Highways

Two week ago, the White House announced a range of actions intended to stimulate and speed up the production of zero-emission electric vehicles in the U.S. This alternative fuel network plans to include 55 Interstate highways, with 48 of those designated as EV charging corridors. In total, the planned charging stations cover nearly 25,000 miles of road, with the appropriate signage along the corridors indicating where to charge up. EV owners can expect an existing or planned EV charging station within a 50-mile radius of one another.

The Federal Highway Administration has released a list of the locations of the corridors, which ones have been approved for the signage, and the type of fuels each will offer. Along with EVs, the program will accommodate vehicles that run on compressed natural gas, hydrogen, or other fuels.

In just six years, the number of charging stations in the U.S. increased from 500 to more than 16,000. Automakers are beginning to roll out EVs that offer up around 200 miles of range. Still, there is a long road ahead (pun intended) before EVs and other alternative-fuel cars, particularly hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, become widely accepted.

Here are a few more details on the new efforts and programs:

• The U.S. Department of Transportation will establish 48 electric-vehicle charging corridors along national highways that cross 35 states and cover almost 25,000 miles
• A total of 28 states, electric utilities, carmakers, and other organizations have committed to accelerate charging infrastructure along these corridors
• The Administration will partner with 24 state and local governments to add more plug-in electric vehicles to their fleets
• Two separate Department of Energy studies are underway to determine optimal scenarios for deploying national electric-car charging infrastructure
• The existing DoE Workplace Charging Challenge has gained 38 new members, among them businesses, universities, electric utilities, and nonprofit organizations