Industry and U.S. government goals continue to drive the volume of electric vehicles (EVs) on the nation's roads---from cars to heavy-duty trucks. EPRI is leading a new, three-year initiative---EVs2Scale2030---that will collaborate with more than 500 stakeholders including Amazon, the U.S. Department of Energy, and leading electric companies to ready the electric grid in support of the accelerated development of EV charging infrastructure.
EVs2Scale2030 includes electric companies, fleet operators, auto and truck manufacturers, and charging providers, in coordination with federal agencies and national labs, the Edison Electric Institute, the American Public Power Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the Alliance for Transportation Electrification.
Amazon is the first logistics provider to join the initiative. Founding electric company members include: Austin Energy, CenterPoint Energy, Con Edison, FirstEnergy, Great River Energy, National Grid, New York Power Authority, Omaha Public Power District, Pacific Gas & Electric, Portland General Electric, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Salt River Project, Seattle City Light, Southern California Edison, Southern Company, and Xcel Energy. Additional data collaborators include Daimler Truck North America, PACCAR, Volvo Group North America, and World Resources Institute.
"Collaboration, coordination, and standardization will be critical for the U.S. to meet its 2030 EV targets," said EPRI President and CEO Arshad Mansoor. "EVs2Scale2030™ will bring together all of the key industry stakeholders to identify and address the challenges and opportunities needed to drive toward an affordable, equitable, and reliable clean energy future."
Among key resources, the initiative plans to create:
A 50-state visualization and 2030 roadmap identifying the aggregated and anonymized electric vehicle loads, grid impacts, utility lead times, workforce requirements, and costs;
An online platform that defines the cross-industry processes needed to support the pace of activity and investment required to meet large-scale electrification by 2030; and
A secure data exchange platform for fleet operators and charging providers that allows energy companies to better plan and prioritize investments in grid upgrades.
"For the U.S. to meet its ambitious electric vehicle goals, the public and private sectors must unite to address what's needed," said Brett C. Carter, chair of EVs2Scale2030™ and executive vice president and group president, utilities, and chief customer officer of Xcel Energy. "From wires to wheels and everything in between, consumers need to have confidence in EV charging availability, reliability, and affordability, without compromising current energy resources. EVs2Scale2030™ will be essential as we address challenges on behalf of the customers and communities we are privileged to serve," he added.
Editor's Note: The 2023 Commercial Electric Vehicle and Infrastructure Conference, a one-day event that precedes T&D World Live 2023, will bring together key players from the Commercial Fleet market, the Utility market, and Regulators to facilitate discussion, exploration, and collaboration on how to build the infrastructure necessary to support the evolution and transformation of Commercial Electric Vehicles. It will take place on Sept. 12 in Sacramento. Visit https://events.tdworld.com/2023/CEVIC for more information.
