DOE Launches Workplace Charging Challenge

Posted

Thirteen major employers and eight stakeholder groups have joined the Department of Energy’s new Workplace Charging Challenge to help expand access to workplace EV charging stations for American workers across the country.

The initiative aims to increase the convenience of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and provide drivers with more options. It's a collaborative effort to increase the number of US employers offering workplace charging by tenfold in the next five years. The Challenge also supports the broader efforts of the Department’s EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, announced by President Obama in March 2012, to make PEVs as affordable and convenient for the American family as gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 10 years.

The following 13 companies pledge to assess workforce PEV charging demands, and then develop and implement a plan to install workplace charging infrastructure for at least one major worksite location:

  1. 3M
  2. Chrysler Group
  3. Duke Energy
  4. Eli Lilly and Company
  5. Ford
  6. GE
  7. GM
  8. Google
  9. Nissan
  10. San Diego Gas & Electric
  11. Siemens
  12. Tesla
  13. Verizon

Eight stakeholder organizations also have signed the Ambassador Pledge to develop and execute plans to support and promote the workplace charging initiative, including:

  1. California PEV Collaborative
  2. CALSTART
  3. Electric Drive Transportation Association
  4. Electrification Coalition
  5. International Parking Institute
  6. NextEnergy
  7. Plug In America
  8. Rocky Mountain Institute.

To support the partners and ambassadors who sign the pledge, DOE will provide technical assistance and establish a forum for partners and ambassadors to share information. The Energy Department also released the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge Blueprint, which describes PEV technology and deployment barriers, as well as steps to move forward in achieving the EV Everywhere goal.

Environment + Energy Leader