As the electric vehicle (EV) industry pursues mainstream adoption, the demand for robust charging infrastructure is more critical than ever.
With global efforts to combat climate change and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, governments, automakers and technology providers are focused on building a system that supports electric mobility. This shift is reshaping the auto industry and driving investment in charging networks, battery technology, and renewable energy sources.
On Thursday (Oct. 3) EVgo, an electric vehicle fast charging network, received a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a loan guarantee of up to $1.05 billion. This funding aims to accelerate the expansion of EVgo’s network across the U.S., with a focus on community locations.
According to the release, financing will enable EVgo to install about 7,500 additional fast charging stalls, targeting key markets including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. If finalized, EVgo expects to complete the deployment of the new stalls by 2030.
In line with the Biden administration’s Justice40 initiative, more than 40% of the new stalls will be in marginalized areas, aiming to address environmental equity by improving access for communities that have historically been underserved.
“EVgo shares the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of increasing EV charging access in the communities that need it most,” EVgo CEO Badar Khan said. “This historic investment would meaningfully accelerate our network expansion to provide public charging to EV drivers across the United States.”
The loan, the release noted, is structured as limited recourse project financing and enables EVgo to forgo raising third-party equity, giving the company greater flexibility to expand its network. This project is projected to create more than 1,000 jobs, primarily in construction and engineering, and highlights EVgo’s commitment to partnering with utilities and state agencies to accelerate infrastructure deployment. This initiative supports the DOE’s mission to strengthen the national EV charging network and boost consumer confidence in electric vehicle adoption.
EVgo plans to roll out new charging infrastructure by 2026, according to the release. While the loan guarantee is a big step forward, EVgo must still meet several technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions before the DOE enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan.
While electric vehicle sales have slowed as consumers are leery about charging access, a federal initiative established in 2021 to install chargers every 50 miles along highways has faced criticism for its sluggish progress.
Despite concerns about the slow national rollout of EV chargers, a DOE spokesperson told PYMNTS last month the Biden administration is on track to meet its goal of establishing 500,000 publicly available EV chargers ahead of schedule. As of Aug. 27, the U.S. had more than 192,500 EV chargers and nearly 72,000 stations in operation.
The spokesperson noted that nearly 1,000 new public chargers are activated weekly, fueled by federal funding, tax incentives, and private investments, with expectations for hundreds of federally funded chargers to be operational this year and hundreds of thousands by the decade’s end.
“Nearly 1,000 new public chargers are turned on every week, thanks to a combination of direct federal funding, federal tax incentives, state and local funding, and private investment,” the spokesperson said. “We expect to see hundreds of federally funded chargers operational this year, thousands next year, and hundreds of thousands of chargers by the end of the decade.”
As the electric vehicle market expands, industry leaders are recognizing the need for innovative payment solutions to support this shift.
“EVs represent a tremendous amount of opportunity for the payments ecosystem,” Julius Alexander III, the head of emerging payments at Discover® Global Network, told PYMNTS, saying that the transition to electric vehicles requires the creation of payment solutions specifically designed to meet the needs of EV drivers and the broader sustainable mobility sector.
Alexander added: “The payment process is extremely important and it can help the industry achieve high levels of innovation while providing payment methods familiar to consumers in their daily lives.”
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