In what could prove to be a landmark announcement in the world of electric vehicles, US charging infrastructure company ChargePoint has pledged to install a massive 2.5 million EV charging spots with in the next 7 years.
Predictions differ on how quickly the EV revolution will happen, but it is undeniably already underway – and as the numbers of EVs increase on roads around the world, a robust and well-distributed charging network is imperative to ensure the continuous mobility of those driving them.
ChargePoint ‘s commitment, which was announced at the Global Climate Action Summit, represents significant growth for the company, which currently has just 50,000 total charging spots (892 of which are DC fast chargers) throughout North America and Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Israel.
“The time for transformative change is now, and broadly distributed, substantial and immediate investments in charging infrastructure are necessary to usher in the future of e-mobility,” said Pasquale Romano, ChargePoint’s president and CEO.
Paul Sernia, founder and Chief Product Officer for Brisbane-based Tritium, from whom ChargePoint have already bought a number of DC fast chargers, says the commitment by Tritium will be a boon for the worldwide EV industry.
“It’s been proven over and over again that when the charging infrastructure is in place, an uptick in electric vehicle purchases follows.
We’ve seen this across the globe in places like Norway and New Zealand, and Chargepoint’s commitment will surely assist in further driving EV penetration across the globe and, with it, the possibility of zero-emissions roads,” Sernia tells The Driven.
According to ChargePoint, an EV driver plugs into a ChargePoint network every 2 seconds. Most of the new chargers will be split between America and Europe, with a small percentage making it to Australia and New Zealand.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.