No, charging stations are not gas stations
By Charles Morris
rticles about EVs in the mainstream press invarito use highway charging only occasionally, and some not ably mention the need for more public charging at all. Meaningful stats are hard to come by, but by most infrastructure. Those with an anti-EV slant spin accounts, only about 5% of automobile trips in the US are this grain of truth into an insurmountable obstacle, but for more than 30 miles. even those that are neutral or positive-leaning often assume The second situation that calls for public charging is that we’ll need astonishing numbers of public chargers. the Plight of the Drivewayless. Millions of urban denizens In 2017, a USB auto analyst triggered howls of hilarity lack driveways, or even assigned parking spaces, so they when he wrote that Tesla would need to add 30,000 Supercannot install chargers at home. Workplace charging can chargers at a cost of $8 billion “to match the convenience of serve some of these poor souls, but not all—city dwellers the US gas infrastructure.” (The gentleman also predicted often take public transport to work, and use their cars for that Tesla would not make any profit from its then-new shopping trips and weekend outings. Model 3.) We’ve seen many proposed solutions for the DriveIncredibly, such uninformed views still pervade the wayless, ranging from sensible to dubious to downright press. To give just one example, a recent piece in the New nutty. I don’t know what the urban charging landscape York Times stated that “experts” say that public chargers is going to look like, but I am confident that it will not will need to become as ubiquitous as gas stations are today. involve anything similar to a gas station. Some imagine Respected news sources regularly make similar pronouncethat urban drivers will pay regular visits to charging hubs, ments. where they’ll sit and wait to I don’t know how these folks charge (an acquaintance of define “experts,” but I regularly mine proposed that such hubs As EV owners know (but so many interview CEOs of charging should feature stages for live providers and EVSE manumusic). writers don’t), many EV drivers will facturers, and while everyone This isn’t going to happen. never need to use a public charger. agrees that more (and more In our society, convenience importantly, better) public is next to godliness, and a charging is required, no one gadget that saves us the five I’ve spoken to sees EV charging as analogous to the gas staminutes it takes to check into a hotel, or the three seconds tion experience. it takes to stick a credit card into a slot, is hailed as a As I’ve often noted, people tend to see every new technolbreakthrough. Can anyone really believe that American ogy through the lens of the old, and that’s natural. Most of consumers will sit and wait to charge for half an hour? us have spent our lives making periodic stops at gas stations On the highway, waiting to charge is no great inconto fill up, and until you’ve owned an EV, it’s hard to undervenience, because the stations are on the way, and most stand that this model is history. human bodies need to make a pit stop every 200 miles or The US DOE estimates that 80% of charging takes place so anyway (some commercial drivers are required to do at home or at the workplace. Of course, this figure just tells so). But driving to a “charging hub” and sitting around a us about current charging needs, and at this point most couple of times a week? People won’t do it. EV owners are affluent suburban dwellers. As EV adoption To get a realistic idea of what urban charging will spreads, the need for public charging is likely to grow. We look like, look at the few cities where EVs make up a don’t know what percentage of refueling sessions will need large percentage of vehicles. In Oslo, Amsterdam and, to take place at public chargers in the electric future, but increasingly, London, on-street parking areas and public we do know that, for gas vehicles, it will always be 100%, garages are liberally provided with chargers. You park, whereas for EVs, it will be a fraction of that. you charge. No sci-fi gadgets needed, and no heavy lifting As EV owners know (but so many writers don’t), many for utilities, as these areas already have electrical service EV drivers will never need to use a public charger. You can for street lighting. On my last visit to Oslo, I saw lots of count your favorite pundit among that number. I often visit EVs charging, but I did not see anyone waiting around at public chargers as a journalistic duty, but I’ve never needed a charging hub. to use one, because I charge at home, and I don’t make long Cities need lots more on-street chargers, they need to trips in my EV. be well-designed to fit into streetscapes without clutter, There are two main use cases that require public chargand they need to be smart, so utilities can manage charging. One is long-distance travel. The Great American Road ing times to help stabilize the grid. There are a lot of rich Trip requires widespread access to fast, dependable chargopportunities for innovative companies in the charging ing, and while the necessary network is rapidly being built space, but turning gas stations into charging hubs is not out, more will be needed. However, most drivers will need one of them.
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Issue 64.indd 82
6/30/23 2:08 PM