Essential to the continued adoption of electric vehicles is a widening national infrastructure of charging ports.

In October 2024, the federal government announced that the nation is on track to achieve that goal and has reached a milestone. According to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, the network achieved 200,000 public charging ports nationwide as of Oct. 22. That number puts the effort ahead of schedule to meet the Biden administration’s goal of having 500,000 chargers by 2030.

Created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation facilitates collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Its purpose is to provide support and expertise to the various stakeholders and programs working to help the country deploy a network of EV chargers and other zero-emissions vehicle infrastructure.

The work of the office is benefiting from a unique combination of public funding and private investment. Programs such as the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program, Charging and Fueling Infrastructure program and the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility program are providing funding to state and municipal entities, helping them complement private investment in an expanding charging port infrastructure.

The Joint Office has also aided the expansion of EVs with the advancement of the J3400 connector standard, which was recently established as a recommended practice.

The investment and focus are paying off. The Joint Office reports that charging options are expanding in all 50 states, and that as of Sept. 30, American drivers can travel more than half (57.8%) of the nation's most heavily trafficked corridors with access to a fast charger at least every 50 miles. By the end of next year, the Joint Office expects that number to expand to 70% of the same corridors.