In December, the EV Everywhere Utility Partnership (EV Everywhere UP) observed six months of progress with an Electric Transportation Stakeholder Summit, where partners shared successes, gained feedback and continued the collaboration. Nearly 100 stakeholders met at Ameren Corporation in St. Louis, MO to discuss ways to overcome critical barriers to mass market adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV).
The Workplace Charging Challenge recently announced a milestone of reaching more than 250 partners, making it halfway to its goal of 500 partners by 2018.
EV Everywhere UP launched this summer, when DOE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Edison Electric Institute (EEI), solidifying our commitment to accelerating PEVs and building the charging infrastructure that is necessary for this technology to flourish.
The Stakeholder Summit gathered stakeholders under the Utility Partnership as well as representatives from automotive manufacturers, state government, national laboratories, research and advocacy non-profits, and more. The Energy Department recognizes that accomplishing the goals set under EV Everywhere requires us to all work together.
Areas of progress at the event included:
- Research and Development:Energy Department-supported R&D has helped lower the modeled, high-volume cost of advanced lithium-ion batteries to $264 per kilowatt hour. That’s 40% lower than the 2012 baseline, continuing a consistent pattern of battery cost reductions since 2009. At the same time, this research has led to an increase in energy density (how much energy the battery can store) leading to less expensive batteries that can enable longer all-electric ranges.
- Workplace Charging:The Workplace Charging Challenge recently announced a milestone of reaching more than 250 partners, making it halfway to its goal of 500 partners by 2018. It also released its Mid-Year Program Report, which provides information on the number of chargers installed, the greenhouse gas emissions saved, and employees’ opinions of workplace charging. Additionally, EEI is supporting workplace charging through their Employee PEV Engagement initiative, through which 55 utility companies are providing approximately 900 workplace charging ports for employees.
- Electrification Benefits Awareness:We are working to draw attention to the value of transportation electrification through the information we provide to both consumers and stakeholders on the new EV Everywhere website and Solution Center. Through the EV Everywhere Logo Design Challenge, the Energy Department received more than 80 submissions and chose a winner in November. We’ll soon distribute decals featuring the new logo to attract further attention to PEVs on the road across America.
- EV Impact Study Series:To further quantify the benefits of PEVs, the Energy Department initiated a new analytic study series which will include information on: economic value, infrastructure, policy, customer behavior, and more. Once released, the reports will be available on the EV Everywhere website.
While there has been much progress, there is much more to do in the areas of infrastructure, state engagement, education, awareness and more. The EV Everywhere team looks forward to tackling these issues in the months ahead in partnership with our stakeholders, and thanks our partners for their continued feedback and support.
For more on the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, visit the website. To request EV Everywhere logo decals for your PEV or charging station, contact us at EVeverywhere@ee.doe.gov.
Filed Under: News, Policy
