Now that there are millions of electric vehicles (EVs) on U.S. roads, close attention is being paid to public charging reliability and accessibility, including plug compatibility, charger functionality, and the mechanics of payment. On all three fronts there’s good news for current and prospective EV drivers in the United States.

Thanks to a few big developments, in the coming years, nearly all EVs will be able to charge at nearly any public charger. Additionally, a federal program is slated to help ensure that chargers operate properly and that payment processing gets a lot easier by allowing users to use a single app to pay at any charger.

First let’s talk about compatibility and a newly formalized standard. Last spring, Ford made a major splash by announcing that starting in 2025, it will manufacturer its EVs using the North American Charging Standard (NACS) inlet derived from Tesla’s charging standard. After that, most major automakers (except Stellantis) and all the major charging infrastructure networks, including Electrify America, EVgo, Blink, and ChargePoint, made similar commitments to adopt the NACS inlet and connector in their North American vehicles and chargers, respectively. Then engineering standards-development organization SAE International said it would expedite the standardization process for NACS to make it an independent standard available for all. In December 2023, SAE released a Technical Information Report developing a standard for the “J3400” NACS connector.

Industry cohesion around the J3400 NACS charging standard, a universal plug shape, is significant because historically the U.S. market has had a variety of different connectors. This is in contrast with the two leading EV markets, China and Europe, where automakers have been mandated to use a harmonized charging standard for several years. In the United States, for Level 2 AC charging, Teslas use NACS and all other EV models have used a different plug called J1772. For DC fast charging, Teslas also use NACS, but most automakers have used a plug called the Combined Charging System (CCS) and some others have used a third plug type called CHAdeMO. This variety of charging connectors has meant that EV drivers seeking public charging need to check (1) if there are chargers along their route and (2) if those chargers are compatible with their vehicle. This won’t be the case for much longer.

The standardization of the J3400 NACS connector means that soon nearly all new EVs will be able to charge at nearly all charging stations. And for the millions of EVs already on U.S. roads, most non-Tesla EV drivers will soon gain access to Tesla’s NACS charging stations using an adapter. Uncertainty remains about how adapters will be rolled out to consumers, but automakers and charging providers will play a key role in helping consumers work through this and better understand their expanded charging options. For example, Ford recently announced that it will provide free charging adapters to its customers.

The industry shift to NACS comes with additional benefits. The NACS connector is more capable than the CCS connector because it allows higher amperages in both AC and DC operation, which translates to more potential power and less time spent at a charger. The NACS connector is also lighter and more ergonomic than other standards. Under a single standard, there won’t be any need to install charging stations with multiple connectors, and hardware costs will be less. In addition, NACS supports higher-voltage Level 2 charging that aligns with the voltage supply at many commercial locations. This means that chargers could be installed at locations that otherwise would require transformer upgrades, such as many mixed-use apartments and workplaces. Cheaper hardware and installation costs for charging projects could mean cheaper charging rates and even more savings for EV drivers.

Now let’s talk about helping to ensure that chargers function properly and that payment options are simple, accessible, and consistent across chargers in the United States. Communication errors between the EV and the charger and payment processing issues are common reasons why chargers malfunction. Standard communication protocols would go a long way toward improving reliability and optimizing payment. The communication protocols for the J3400 standard differ from Tesla’s legacy protocols and there is still work to be done by Tesla, other automakers, and charging manufacturers to ensure that all EVs and all chargers are interoperable. Fortunately, the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which is to provide funding for the installation of hundreds of thousands of chargers over the next several years, requires the implementation of the latest OCPP and OCPI standardized protocols for charger to network communication, as well as ISO 15118 for EV-to-charger communication. Together these standardized protocols will, among other things, reduce malfunctions by having all EVs and chargers speak the same “language”; expand error message reporting to allow for timely, precise, and lasting troubleshooting of faulty chargers; streamline payment processing and charger operation by allowing users to operate and pay for any charger from any company using a single app; and eventually allow for plug-and-charge capability for all chargers and EVs.

NEVI funding also comes with requirements that charging operators provide contactless payment options and guarantee that chargers are fully functional at least 97% of the time. On the latter, the federal government has already invested $150 million to repair and replace broken and faulty chargers across the United States. Because the NEVI program was developed prior to the J3400 NACS connector becoming a universal standard, the program does not require that NEVI-funded charging stations include the connector. However, since the industry has already largely agreed to adopt the standard, the federal government has expressed a willingness to update the program requirements and is likely to require the connector once SAE finalizes the standard by mid-2024.

As the NACS and NEVI roll out in tandem over the coming years, EV drivers in the United States will see both increased interoperability of charging stations and increased reliability. EV drivers and supporters have long sought to make EV charging away from home as simple and easy as filling up a gasoline car, and these developments are monumental steps toward making that a reality.

Last week, we released a wide-ranging analysis estimating that more than 150,000 jobs could be needed in the United States to deploy “behind-the-meter” charging infrastructure for electric light-duty vehicles (LDVs) and medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) through 2032. The term “behind the meter” refers to the customer’s side of the electricity meter and the term “front of the meter” is used when talking about the utility’s side, where there’s infrastructure such as substations, transformers, and feeder lines (Figure 1).

For HDVs specifically, the new study estimated that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed HDV Phase 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) standard could generate as many as 16,000 jobs by 2032, or about 10% of the national total. But that’s only part of the jobs story.

As we’ll explore here, when all the jobs to construct the infrastructure to channel megawatt-scale power to chargers at private depots and public charging plazas for battery electric trucks and buses are considered, the utility-side infrastructure in front of the meter is likely to require a workforce an order of magnitude larger than the workforce building out customer-side infrastructure.

Figure 1. Battery-electric MHDV charging infrastructure ecosystem.

Let’s look at a preliminary, top-down jobs estimate based on available national-level data. It’s sensitive to assumptions about how individual chargers are configured into charging stations, how expensive utility grid upgrades are at each charging station, and how utility investments translate into jobs in the economy.

Still, we make generally conservative assumptions and the eventual number of jobs created could be larger. First, while the total number of chargers is based on a projected level of zero-emission vehicle adoption supported by the EPA HDV GHG Phase 3 proposal, in previous analysis we found that market forces, aided by Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives, can support a larger number of zero-emission MHDVs and may draw even greater investments in charging infrastructure. Second, we do not fully account for possible infrastructure investments upstream from the distribution substation to support the largest multi-megawatt installations with peak loads greater than 10 MW.

We arrived at the job estimates in Figure 2 by first aggregating the nameplate capacity of 100 kW, 350 kW, and 1 MW chargers into a total number of hypothetical charging stations. The cost of grid upgrades and connection costs for charging stations were taken from previous ICCT research and utility upgrade cost estimates by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Next, we converted dollars invested in distribution grid capacity into a total number of direct and indirect jobs in the United States required and supported by these investments; this is based on an economic impact analysis of a utility’s substation transformer upgrade costs and other high-level utility infrastructure economic impact studies (here and here). Direct jobs are those related to the core construction and electrical work, for example installing substations and laying feeder lines; indirect jobs are upstream manufacturing, administrative, and other jobs not immediately involved in utility upgrade activities.

Under the most optimistic level of electrification likely to occur with the proposed EPA HDV Phase 3 GHG rule, we project more than 493,000 overnight 100 kW chargers, nearly 17,000 fast 350 kW chargers, and around 12,800 ultra-fast 1 MW chargers by 2032. We estimate up to $21 billion would need to be invested in distribution grid capacity to support these chargers, also by 2032.

These calculations, combined with the behind-the-meter jobs our colleagues estimated, suggest approximately 262,000 direct and indirect full-time equivalent jobs would be necessary to support the most optimistic rates of electrification to meet the EPA proposal by 2032 (Figure 2). More than 94% of these jobs come from what would be needed for utility-side infrastructure deployment. These front-of-the-meter jobs are wide-ranging and include substation construction, laying conduit, wiring, installing transformers and meters, laying feeder lines and their foundations, and manufacturing electrical grid components and assembly of these assets.

Figure 2. Estimated direct and indirect jobs created from infrastructure investments in MHDV electrification under the most optimistic rates of electrification to meet the EPA Phase 3 GHG proposal by 2032.

Billions of dollars in public investments are already funding charging infrastructure deployment at the federal and local levels. Private sector investments from companies such as TerraWatt Infrastructure, WattEV, Forum Mobility, and GreenLane reflect this growing industry.

Our estimates suggest the vast majority of charging infrastructure job creation will occur not in the manufacturing and installation of chargers themselves, but in the distribution grid assets that power the chargers. Finalizing the EPA Phase 3 proposal would generate significant momentum toward this job creation and the potential is even greater when accounting for the additional market potential shaped by IRA incentives. It’s key that utilities and regulators not only recognize the potential in constructing infrastructure assets in front of the meter, but that they begin planning to deliver front-of-the-meter assets and prepare their workforce in a time frame consistent with the EPA Phase 3 proposal and beyond.

About this event

The ICCT in collaboration with NITI Aayog is organizing a one-day workshop on Low Emission Zones (LEZs) in Indian cities. LEZs, designated areas where certain vehicles, particularly those with high emissions, are restricted or prohibited, have proven effective in reducing air pollution worldwide. Additionally, LEZs play a crucial role in promoting the adoption of electric vehicles, aligning with NITI Aayog’s proactive advocacy in this area.

Our workshop, in association with the Raahgiri Foundation & SUM Network, is scheduled for February 19, 2024 in New Delhi, and aims to raise awareness about LEZ benefits, discuss best practices for LEZ implementation in Indian cities, and formulate a roadmap for future actions.

The workshop will include discussions on the following topics:

1. The benefits of LEZs for air quality and public health
2. Case studies of successful LEZs from around the world
3. Experiences in implementing LEZs in Indian cities
4. Legal pathways for developing LEZs in India
5. The role of technology in supporting LEZ implementation

The workshop will, we believe, significantly contribute to ongoing efforts to improve air quality and enhance EV adoption in Indian cities.