The U.S. now has nearly 8,200 public DC fast-charging stations, filling in gaps on the route map, according to a new Bloomberg report.
The number of public fast chargers increased 7.6% in the first quarter of 2024, fueled by the Biden administration's $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, according to the report, which found that this growth spurt means there is now one fast charger for every 15 U.S. gas stations.
GMC Hummer EV at Pilot travel center
Charging infrastructure is also expanding beyond the traditional coastal EV strongholds, according to the report. Indiana added 16 new fast-charging stations between January and April, while Missouri and Tennessee each added 13, and Alabama added 11. And Ohio claimed the first NEVI installation nationwide in December 2023.
The additional charging stations in flyover country is partly down to convenience stores like Buc-ee's and Wawa getting involved in charging, Bloomberg notes. The two chains collectively added 19 new charging stations in the first three months of 2024.
Electrify America charging stations at Love's Travel Stop
A study last year from the mapping-data firm HERE suggested that identifying the states that are leading or lagging on charging might not be as straightforward as it initially seems. Instead, it relates partly to the size of their EV fleets and where chargers are in relation to that and where they're going. Further, the Department of Energy still has one of the best tools—its map of “Designated Alternative Fuel Corridors”—for anticipating where future EV fast chargers may fill out.
Meeting the federal goals laid out by the program, which calls for stations at 50-mile intervals along major corridors, will require more than 1,100 fast-charging stations across the nation, according to a look by the Great Plains Institute last year. And that's not considering other ambitious EV charging network efforts, like Ionna—or the growth of Tesla Supercharging.
