The White House has announced that it will be implementing a major clean energy initiative that will spark electric vehicle manufacturing in the United States. The initiative will use federal dollars to help create half a million new electric vehicle chargers over the next seven years.
The White House issued a statement on Wednesday detailing the plan to create a network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers throughout the nation’s highways by 2030, while underscoring President Joe Biden‘s continuing strategy to address the escalating global climate crisis.
“These recent and new commitments will make more public chargers available for all EVs,” White House infrastructure chief Mitch Landrieu said during a Tuesday press briefing. “With announcements like todays and the overall growth we’re seeing, it’s clear that this administration is making incredible progress towards building our electric future.”
Big auto manufacturers such as Tesla, GM, Ford and ChargePoint have all committed to build and install the new charging network across the nation and will receive funding from Washington to fulfill the efforts so long as federal standards are met.
As part of the plan, billionaire CEO Elon Musk has agreed to modify Tesla’s proprietary technology so that the company’s public charging stations are compatible with the wider network, not just its own cars.
Tesla plans to triple its inventory of superchargers while making 7,500 of its power stations available to other car brands by the end of 2024. This includes a network of 3,500 superchargers along the nation’s highways as well as the company’s more conventional ports commonly seen in the parking lots of hotels and restaurants.
The deal also includes a separate plan to install 2,000 fast chargers at Pilot and Flying J truck stops across America.
The contributions have come after the White House has said it will aim to standardise EV chargers to ensure that all Americans can use the charging network.
