Shift Magazine - July 2021 - 6

Updating the grid, improving charger access
among the challenges U.S. must tackle, experts say
ARE WE READY?
B
BY ALEXA ST. JOHN
attery-electric and plug-in hybrid
vehicles account for only about
3 percent of U.S. light-vehicle
sales. But that figure could surge
to 15 to 35 percent by 2030, consultancy
McKinsey & Co. estimates. Soaring EV
sales would require a greater build-out of
charging infrastructure. Is the nation up
to the task? We asked industry experts
whether U.S. infrastructure is ready for a
rise in EV sales.
Here's what they had to say.
" "
" The U.S. has trailed Europe
historically in deploying EV
infrastructure at pace or in
advance of vehicles. But during
the past few years, they've
made great strides in really
understanding what the need is
and coordinating those efforts
between trying to anticipate
vehicle sales and the necessary
infrastructure to support it. The
current bills being proposed
are looking at having the state
departments of transportation
coordinate the infrastructure
investment. There will be a
lot more activity at the state
level in coordinating activities
amongst agencies between the
Department of Transportation
and these other stakeholders
to understand where chargers
should be located and what
volumes and what type. "
John Gartner, director of EV
Program Research at the Center for
Sustainable Energy
6
shift * july 2021
Gartner
" We're evolving from noise
to real action. Looking at the
administration and their call
for investment in EV charging
infrastructure - that's the first
time we've had a national call
of that nature. A focus then
is, how do we make sure, if
we're going to install all of this
charging infrastructure, that
we have the supply capacity to
support it? This really comes
down to we both need to
install the infrastructure [and]
we need to update the grid.
We need to make sure it's
secure and reliable, so we've
got the capacity for that added
demand. Furthermore, we
are globally encouraging the
transition to electric vehicles
"
Malek
to help diminish the impact of
transportation emissions on
climate change. To be holistic
in that, we need to make sure
that the electric energy that
is supplying these vehicles is
clean. "
Alisyn Malek, executive director
of the Commission on the Future
of Mobility
" We're ready today for what's
ahead of us right now, but 10
years from now, we have some
work to do. The challenge that
we have is, to be ready for that
future, we actually have to start
working on it today. The grid
was built a certain way to deal
with a certain scenario, and that
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/electric-mobility-after-the-crisis-why-an-auto-slowdown-wont-hurt-ev-demand
Shift Magazine - July 2021

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