A recent article in Nature Communications investigates the gaps in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across the United States in 2023. Researchers developed a metric to measure how well national charging stations support long-distance travel, calculating the percentage of US roads that remain accessible within 500 miles of any given county.
Image Credit: Aliaksei Kaponia/Shutterstock.com
Background
The adoption of light-duty EVs has grown rapidly, driven by technological advancements and the push to reduce emissions. However, for EVs to become a practical alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles, a reliable and accessible charging network is essential.
EV chargers are typically classified into three types: Level 1, Level 2, and direct current (DC) fast chargers. Level 1 chargers (1–2 kW) are mostly used in homes, while Level 2 chargers (5–19.2 kW) are common in workplaces and public areas. DC fast chargers (50–350 kW) are designed for long-distance travel but are not universally compatible with all EVs.
While public charging infrastructure has expanded, with around 60,000 Level 2 and DC fast charging stations either available or planned, many consumers still worry about charging accessibility. Government initiatives, such as the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, aim to address these concerns, but gaps remain.
Methods
This study quantified consecutive coverage of national EV charging stations for long-distance travel, considering a 500-mile range. Geospatial highway data and public EV charging station location data were used in a breadth-first search function for each county to calculate a consecutive coverage metric, estimating long-distance travel feasibility for EVs.
The analysis incorporated data from the National Highway System (NHS), designated alternative fuel corridors (AFCs), existing public charging stations, and county-level census information. The data was used to determine the percentage of highways, weighted by traffic volume, that remain consecutively accessible to public charging stations without gaps exceeding 50 miles. This was examined under three scenarios: minimum viable coverage, fast charger coverage, and AFCs Reach NEVI-compliant status.
Minimum viable coverage included all planned and existing nonproprietary public Level 2 and DC fast charging stations. The fast charger coverage scenario considered only planned and existing NEVI-compliant charging stations, defined as those with at least four chargers. The AFCs Reach NEVI-compliant status scenario assumed full deployment of NEVI-compliant stations along all AFCs.
Results and Discussion
The analysis of Level 2 and DC fast charging station coverage indicated that while travel is viable, long wait periods may be an issue. Nevada, California, and all New England states had an average consecutive coverage exceeding 80 %, whereas states from Louisiana to Montana had less than 25 % coverage. When considering only DC fast chargers, coverage remained below 30 % for most states, except for Nevada (71 %), California (79 %), Washington (49 %), and Rhode Island (39 %).
In the fast charger coverage scenario, New England showed only 39% coverage of DC fast chargers, suggesting that while the region has solid minimum viable coverage (above 60 %), it lacks the infrastructure to efficiently manage high demand and reduce wait times. The AFCs Reach NEVI-compliant status scenario showed the lowest fast charger coverage in North Dakota at 60 %, while the Northeast, California, Nevada, and Arizona had coverage exceeding 95 %.
The minimum viable coverage metric measured consecutive coverage in each US county. It was high for New England, the West Coast, and South Florida, with over 75 % coverage, while most major cities had at least 30–50 % coverage. Rural counties, however, had considerably lower coverage (under 20 %), largely due to the less dense highway network in the western US, which necessitates additional charging stations.
The study estimated that achieving consecutive road sections within 500 miles for each US county would require 1,900 additional chargers nationwide. Under the AFCs Reach NEVI-compliant status scenario, DC fast charger coverage was significantly high across the US, with 97 % of counties having over 50 % consecutive fast charger coverage. However, some rural counties in the Great Plains had coverage below 20 %, with county centers more than 50 miles from the nearest fast charger or AFC. Expanding AFCs could help connect these rural counties to the national network of accessible charging stations.
Conclusion
This study introduced a method for evaluating EV charging station coverage for long-distance travel. Findings suggest that installing 1,900 additional NEVI-compliant stations along AFCs would allow 94 % of US counties to achieve at least 75 % consecutive coverage.
Achieving full consecutive fast charger coverage nationwide, particularly in rural areas, would require 4,500 additional NEVI-compliant stations. Addressing these gaps through targeted infrastructure investments will make EV travel more reliable and accessible nationwide.
Journal Reference
Hanig, L., et al. (2025). Finding gaps in the national electric vehicle charging station coverage of the United States. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55696-8, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55696-8
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.