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Finding gaps in the national electric vehicle charging station coverage of the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Lily Hanig

    (Carnegie Mellon University
    National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Catherine Ledna

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Destenie Nock

    (Carnegie Mellon University
    Carnegie Mellon University)

  • Corey D. Harper

    (Carnegie Mellon University
    Carnegie Mellon University)

  • Arthur Yip

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Eric Wood

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • C. Anna Spurlock

    (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Abstract

The United States federal government has invested $7.5 billion into charging infrastructure, including the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, to build fast charging stations along designated highways for long-distance car travel. We develop a consecutive coverage metric to compute the percent of United States roads (traffic-weighted) that are consecutively accessible within 500 miles of each county. We answer (1) what the state of consecutive coverage is in each county and (2) what the increase in coverage is when designated highways receive fast chargers. In 2023, 10% of counties had at least 75% minimum viable coverage. We find that if all designated highways receive fast-charging stations, 94% of United States counties will reach at least 75% fast charger coverage. However, the remaining counties are rural. This demonstrates that federal funding for fast chargers will help connect most—but not all—counties to the national network of continuously accessible charging stations.

Suggested Citation

  • Lily Hanig & Catherine Ledna & Destenie Nock & Corey D. Harper & Arthur Yip & Eric Wood & C. Anna Spurlock, 2025. "Finding gaps in the national electric vehicle charging station coverage of the United States," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-55696-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55696-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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