Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Industrial - May 30, 2019
GM and Bechtel join to build EV charging stations
General Motors and Bechtel are creating a separate company to build a network of electric vehicle fast-charging stations across the country.
A report by CNN Business said the network will benefit GM, which plans to introduce 20 new EV models by 2023. Other manufacturers’ vehicles would be able to use the chargers as well. GM will provide the data and expertise needed to place chargers in the locations where they can best be used, while Bechtel will provide its own expertise in engineering, building and permitting for the stations. Neither company will invest money in the project; discussions with potential investors is still ongoing.
In addition to locating chargers on major highways, where most have been concentrated up to now, GM and Bechtel's fast charger network will also be located in densely populated cities where potential EV owners in apartments may not have access to home chargers.
"The way we think about it, we want to put chargers where they're going to have the greatest influence on EV adoption wherever that may be," said Mike Ableson, GM's vice president of EV infrastructure and charging, in the report. "I believe a lot of those are actually going to be in urban areas."
The enterprise will rely, in part, on data from General Motors cars, both electric and gasoline, to learn when and where people tend to drive and to park. The company will look at data from millions of vehicles through GM's OnStar system. "Our hypothesis around fast charging is that people charge where their cars [are] already spending time, right?" said Ableson. "And, thanks to this anonymized opt-in data, we have a lot of insight into that."
Read These Related Articles:
Stay Up-To-Date
