Publications

Recommendations for Minimum Required Error Codes for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

9/13/2023

This report proposes a set of Minimum Required Error Codes (MRECs) for electric vehicle (EV) chargers and recommends that the industry implement these uniformly across the North American EV charging ecosystem to streamline error reporting, interpretability, and diagnostics. The purpose of this document is to simplify the troubleshooting process and increase charging reliability for all EV users. This report serves as a recommendation for industry stakeholders, encouraging a unified methodology to define and classify a minimum required set of error codes.

Fast Charging Infrastructure for Electrifying Road Trips to and from National Parks in the Western United States

9/12/2023

National parks in the Western United States draw over 80 million visitors every year, and most visitors rely on personal cars for their road trips (or long-distance travels). Travel to national parks represents distinct travel demand, as they are typically located in remote areas necessitating long-distance trips. This study investigates the quantity and locations of on-route fast charging infrastructure needed by 2030 to enable seamless travel to/from national parks using electric vehicles in seven target states in the region, employing unprecedented high-resolution spatial and temporal analysis.

Authors: Lee, D-Y; Bopp, K.; Moniot, M.; Kandt, A.

Customer Experience at Public Charging Stations and Its Effects on the Purchase and Use of Electric Vehicles

9/1/2023

This report evaluates how consumer experiences at public fast charging stations influence electric vehicle (EV) adoption, including how it impacts the likelihood of current EV drivers purchasing EVs in the future. This report discusses how a better understanding about how the customer experience impacts the adoption of EVs could help create performance metrics for public EV charging stations and ensure that EV adoption meets federal and state goals in coming years.

Electric Vehicle Basics

8/29/2023

Electric vehicles use electricity as their primary fuel or to improve the efficiency of conventional vehicle designs. These vehicles can be divided into two categories: All-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Together, EVs and PHEVs can also be referred to as electric vehicles (EVs). Access this publication in Spanish and in French.

At A Glance: Electric Vehicles

8/29/2023

Electric-drive vehicles use electricity as their primary fuel or to improve the efficiency of conventional vehicle designs. With the range of styles and options available, there is likely one to meet your needs. Electric vehicles (EVs) include all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Access this publication in Spanish here and French here.

Notes: This document is intended to be printed double-sided on an 8-1/2 X 11 piece of paper, then folded in half once to present as a brochure.

Electric Vehicle Managed Charging: Estimating the Potential Bulk Power System Value

8/1/2023

Numerous studies have estimated the potential value of EV managed charging. In this study, NREL leveraged more detailed modeling of EV adoption, use, charging, and bulk power system operations to understand the potential value. Unique to this study, NREL modeled different charging flexibility types and dispatch mechanisms—as well as participation rates among drivers in having their EV charging managed—starting from vehicle-specific descriptions of charging flexibility.

Alternative Fuel Vehicle Usage and Owner Demographics in New York State

8/1/2023

With mounting concerns over climate change and the environmental impact of fossil fuels, the United States has witnessed a growing interest in alternative fuel vehicles (AFV). This report presents the results of an analysis of AFV adoption patterns in New York State and the rest of the United States based on data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey. Overall, the report reveals the demographics and mobility factors (e.g., household income, homeownership, and trip length) that contribute to the adoption of AFVs. The insights identified in this report can inform policy decisions aimed at promoting sustainable transportation solutions.

Authors: Pan, M; Uddin, M; Biehl, A; Hwang, H

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Trends from the Alternative Fueling Station Locator: First Quarter 2023

7/26/2023

Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure continues to rapidly change and grow. Using data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator, this report provides a snapshot of the state of EV charging infrastructure in the United States in the first calendar quarter of 2023 by charging level, network, and location. Additionally, this report measures the current state of charging infrastructure compared with a federal infrastructure requirement scenario. This information is intended to help transportation planners, policymakers, researchers, infrastructure developers, and others understand the rapidly changing landscape of EV charging infrastructure. This is the thirteenth report in a series.

Authors: Brown, A.; Cappellucci, J.; White, E.; Heinrich, A.; Cost, E.

Multi-Unit Dwelling Plug-in EV Charging Innovation Pilots

7/1/2023

Nearly one-third of residences in the U.S. are multi-unit dwellings (MUDs), e.g., apartments and condominiums, and multi-family housing buildings with five or more units account for approximately 45% of rental households. While 80% of electric vehicle (EV) charging takes place at home, less than 5% of home charging takes place at multi-family housing buildings. With public EV charging still underdeveloped, lack of access to reliable home charging is a major barrier to EV adoption for multi-family housing residents. Project partners led a three-year project to address barriers to EV charging at MUDs by developing an online toolkit geared toward residents, homeowner associations (HOAs), and property managers. The project engaged stakeholders across the country to identify real and perceived barriers to EV charging at multi-family housing buildings and explored innovative technologies that attempt to alleviate the identified barriers, which are discussed in this report.

Authors: Teebay, R

Public EV Charging Station Site Selection Checklist

7/1/2023

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office) provides technical assistance on planning and implementation of a national network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers and zero-emission fueling infrastructure, as well as zero-emission transit and school buses. There are several considerations that should be addressed when selecting a site for EV charging stations. This document is a checklist to assist with site selection for publicly available EV charging stations.

National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program Annual Report: Plan Year 2022-2023

7/1/2023

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program was launched in February 2022, providing nearly $5 billion over 5 years to help states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico create a network of electric vehicle charging stations beginning with designated Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Alternative Fuel Corridors, emphasizing the Interstate Highway System. All states submitted deployment plans which were reviewed by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and FHWA and certified by FHWA in September 2022. This document provides an individual and collective overview of the first-year deployment plans, presents key findings from the first round of NEVI plans, and summarizes the key activities of the Joint Office.

Authors: Chu, J; Gilmore, B; Hassol, J; Jenn, A; Lommele, S; Myers, L; Richardson, H; Schroeder, A; Shah, M

Community Engagement Tips for EV Infrastructure Deployment

7/1/2023

This guidance document provides tips for conducting community engagement to support electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure planning and deployment.

Local Jurisdiction Electric Vehicle (EV) Ready Checklist

6/30/2023

This EV readiness checklist provides a series of comprehensive, high-level steps that local governments can take to prepare for transportation electrification. The checklist pairs concrete actions with case study examples and resources to assist local governments in engaging with their communities, from individuals to businesses to other stakeholders. The checklist provides model policies, plans, programs, partnerships, incentive programs, and more, all pertaining to the following seven action areas: community planning; zoning; building codes; permitting and inspections; government fleets; public education and outreach; and public safety and security.

Authors: Alissa Boggs; Leah Boggs; Robert Christopher; Maia Davis; Tim Masters

Sample Cybersecurity Clauses for EV Charging Infrastructure Procurements

6/30/2023

Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure exhibits character traits of cloud computing, Internet of Things, and operational technology. Critically, high-level communications and interconnectedness underlie it all. The benefits of connected technologies also come with cybersecurity risks, which must be managed and are managed most effectively early in the systems engineering process. States and other EV charging infrastructure purchasers can reduce their exposure to cybersecurity risks by including sample cybersecurity procurement language clauses that clearly communicate cybersecurity requirements. This document is a tool and an informative resource to be used in conjunction with other general procurement guidance for assisting state departments of transportation in defining cybersecurity-related procurement specifications.

Authors: Ross O'Neil, L; Carroll, T; Abdelhadi, E; Watson, M; Hammer, C; Psarakis, M

Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, April 2023

6/14/2023

The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for April 2023 is a quarterly report on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between April 1, 2023 and April 15, 2023, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.

Table 2 reports that the nationwide average price (all amounts are per gallon) for regular gasoline has increased 38 cents from $3.31 to $3.69; diesel decreased 33 cents from $4.58 to $4.25; CNG decreased 26 cents from $3.25 to $2.99; ethanol (E85) increased 21 cents from $2.77 to $2.98; propane decreased 3 cents from $3.66 to $3.63; and biodiesel (B20) decreased 44 cents from $4.46 to $4.02.

According to Table 3, CNG is 70 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis and E85 is 19 cents more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.

Authors: Bourbon, E.