Funds for EV charger network keep flowing

It’s been a tough road for electric car charging networks in the U.S., but they have tapped into a new, old customer: the federal government.

- BY KYLE STOCK

CARLIN STIEHL Los Angeles Times

DEMAND for EVs appears steady in North America.

Above, a man charges his Tesla in Hawthorne.

Dollars from the $5-billion infrastructure program that Joe Biden’s White House crafted to speed EV adoption and cut emissions are flowing again after the Trump administration froze the funds at the start of this year. In June, a federal court overturned the suspension and states hustled to revamp their charging plans.

In recent weeks, more than 40 states have solicited or signed contracts to build new electric car charging stations in rural areas, underserved cities and other places where they might not have otherwise made economic sense, according to Rick Wilmer, chief executive of ChargePoint Holdings Inc., one of the country’s largest networks.