Biden announces $900 million for funding EV charging units across the US

United States President Joe Biden announcedon Wednesday that the United States (US) has approved the first $900 million in funding for the construction of Electric Vehicles (EV)charging stations in 35 states as part of the $1 trillion infrastructure package passed in November, as perthe White House.

Nearly $5 billion over five years was granted by Congress to fund grants to states for the construction of thousands of electric vehicle charging stations. Ina speech at the Detroit auto show, Biden also revealed that the USgovernment has greatly increased its purchasing of EVs.

Less than 1 per centof new federal purchases in 2020 were electric; that number more than doubled in 2021, and in2022, "agencies have acquired five times as many EVs as all of last fiscal year," according to the White House.

Almost all EV or plug-in hybrid electric models must be purchased by the government by 2027, according to an executive order issued by Biden in December. The USgovernment has about 650,000 vehicles and buys about 50,000 each year.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) receives $3 billion in money from legislation that Biden signed in August to purchase more EVs and charging infrastructure. After previously planning to purchase at least 10,019 EVs, USPS informed Reuters in July that it is now seeking to buy at least 25,000 EVs out of its initial order of 50,000 delivery vehicles from Oshkosh.

Biden has not approved the gradual phase-out of new gasoline-powered car sales by 2030; instead, he wants 500,000 new EV charging stations and 50 per centof all new vehicle sales to be electric or plug-in hybrid electric models by 2030.

As perofficials, a significant barrier to broader EV adoption is the paucity of charging facilities. According to Detroit Mayor Michael Duggan, "We're going to need a see a rapid increase in electric vehicle charging."

(with inputs from agencies)