The U.S. Department of Energy will invest $7 million in seven projects to create national electric vehicle charging infrastructure planning.
The initiatives will make it easier for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to charge their batteries with electricity and to refuel with hydrogen along the nation’s busiest highways.
Across four initiatives, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will work with business partners to provide analysis and suggestions for emissions-free electric vehicle charging stations across more than half of the country.
NREL claims that the planned initiatives for electrification and hydrogen fuelling corridors are essential to reaching federal clean energy goals, such as reducing carbon emissions in the transportation industry in the United States by 2050 and installing more than 500,000 EV chargers countrywide by 2030.
According to the statement, creating the required infrastructure that accommodates battery-electric and hydrogen-fueled cars may dramatically lower carbon emissions and enhance air quality, particularly in regions close to major motorways and freight routes.
New norms for EV charging
New requirements for charging dependability along highway corridors were completed by the Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy, although they do not yet take into account medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
There are differences between EV charging stations in important areas, such as link types, payment options, security of information, capacity, and speed of charging devices, security, and the general experience for users. At this point, there haven’t been any complete standards for the setup, use, or upkeep of EV charging stations.
Four Initiatives to Cut Greenhouse Gases
Four of the seven initiatives that the DOE is financing are being supported by NREL researchers. The initiatives are:
Aspects Of The I-95 Freight Corridor’s Infrastructure
Experts from NREL and Calstart will create strategies for deploying infrastructure throughout the I-95 freight corridor, which runs from Savannah, Georgia, to Newark, New Jersey. The research will examine the following to determine the best areas for hydrogen refueling stations and EV charging stations:
- Movement of products.
- Energy requirements.
- Needs for the infrastructure.
Hydrogen Fueling Sites On I-80
In order to build complete designs for battery charging and hydrogen fuelling stations along a section of I-80 that passes through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, Cummins will cooperate with NREL experts.
By 2035, it is intended to create a network of refueling and charging facilities to assist in the conversion of 30% of the heavy-duty fleets in the area to zero-emission vehicles.
Electricity Along the Wasatch Front in Utah
Engineers from NREL will work with a team from Utah State University to create a strategy for corridor electrification across the Wasatch Front in Utah.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will contribute operational statistics on commercial cars, knowledge of electric vehicle charging and grid connectivity evaluations, and advice on hydrogen infrastructure needs. The project’s objectives are to solve equality issues and develop environmentally friendly transportation options in the area.
Commercial Electric Vehicle Charging Throughout the Freight Routes of New England
Specialists from NREL and National Grid will work together to develop a comprehensive model of truck movements along New England’s freight routes in order to model potential electric truck activities and pinpoint the best charging stations.
The project will span many states in the area, and it will make use of the EVI-X modeling toolkit from NREL to create an economical strategy for widespread EV charging deployment. The project’s goal is to provide a model for commercial EV charging rollout that other areas may use as inspiration.