The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) provided federal-level large-scale incentives and investments to grow America’s domestic EV industry.
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new multi-pollutant emission standards for later EV models (from 2027 and later) are expected to increase the sales of more EVs from light-duty vehicles (LDV) to medium-to-heavy-duty vehicles (MHDV).
The accelerating transition to electric vehicles will also increase job opportunities concerning the production and maintenance of vehicles, including the production, installation, and maintenance of charging infrastructure.
Estimating future job demands for EVs and EV charging infrastructure is critical to ensuring an adequate supply of skilled workers and taking advantage of the economic benefits.
A 2024 report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), “Charging Up America, The growth of United States electric vehicle charging infrastructure jobs,” projects the number of jobs required to expand electric LDV and MHDV charging infrastructure to meet annual charging needs through 2032.
The report’s forecast of EV charging infrastructure needs for LDVs and MHDVs is consistent with EV projections from the Biden administration’s proposed standards. From these, the report projects the number of blue-collar jobs from electrical installation, electrical maintenance and repair, domestic charger assembly, and general construction labor, in addition to white-collar jobs from software maintenance and repair, planning and design, and administration and legal, that would be needed to meet estimates of charging infrastructure required for the country.
According to the report, growth in US charging infrastructure will create about 160,000 jobs by 2032. Nearly 50% or 78,000 jobs needed will be electrical installation and electrical maintenance and repair jobs, requiring skilled electricians who meet local licensing requirements and are adequately trained to install and maintain EV chargers safely and accurately.
Additional charger assembly and general construction labor would bring the blue-collar jobs close to 104,000. By 2032, white-collar positions—including software maintenance and repair, planning and design, and administration and legal—totaling close to 54,000 jobs will be needed.
Electric LDV infrastructure growth would generate the most jobs, 142,000, or 90%, while a smaller number of jobs would be needed to support electric MHDV infrastructure growth, 16,000, or 10%.
The document also discusses the potential for additional job creation if the share of chargers that are produced domestically increases. Finally, it explored key issues that policymakers and industry can address to ensure enough skilled workers are available to scale the EV charging infrastructure quickly enough to meet goals for EV adoption and maximize job creation and its economic advantage.
Charging Infrastructure Must Increase in Sync with EV Uptake
The report highlights the importance of keeping the development of charging infrastructure in step with the consumers’ EV uptake to keep up with the goals for EV adoption.
By 2032, the report estimates close to 4.1 million workplace and public chargers will be needed. It also estimates an increasing need for around 2.2 million multifamily home chargers and 35.2 million Level 2 chargers for single-family homes. By 2032, over 29,000 opportunity chargers consisting of ultra-fast, fast, and overnight chargers would be needed to support the MHDV electric fleet.
More Jobs If EV Chargers Will Be Manufactured in the US
Based on limited data availability, the analysis estimates that the final assembly of 33% of Level 2 chargers will occur domestically by 2032. Along with 100% domestically assembled DC, it will lead to more than 13,000 jobs in charger assembly.
As EV technology improves, lower-rated power chargers will be decommissioned over time and replaced by higher-rated chargers to better match vehicle technical specifications.
This study demonstrates that there will be a growing demand for jobs in the EV charging industry. Government strategies could help ensure an adequate and steady supply of workers for these jobs and that those workers are equipped with the proper skills and training.
Meeting this demand will require building the high road economy in the EV charging industry. That means businesses will compete on quality, not cost, and invest in workers.
Asset Management and EV Charging Infrastructure
The EV charging infrastructure’s expansion and integration into the built environment will present a unique challenge to infrastructure asset managers responsible for managing the built environment and real property assets.
An article by Michael Hardy provides recommendations on how asset management should approach this change.
“As EV charging infrastructure is a relatively new addition to the built environment, asset managers need to consider the impact of EV charging on their existing assets and plan for the integration of EV charging infrastructure into their properties.”
“Asset managers need to consider several factors, such as the location, accessibility, and capacity of their properties. They also need to consider the technical requirements of EV charging infrastructure such as the type of charging stations and the electrical capacity of their properties.”
“Asset managers also need to consider the impact of EV charging infrastructure on their existing assets. For example, installing EV charging stations may require modifying existing electrical systems or parking areas. Asset managers must ensure that these modifications are carried out safely and efficiently and comply with relevant regulations and standards.”
The article notes that integrating EV charging infrastructure into the built environment can provide many benefits for asset managers, such as enhancing the value of properties, promoting sustainability and reducing carbon emissions, and helping future-proof properties by providing the necessary infrastructure for the growing adoption of EVs.
And even though EV charging infrastructure is a relatively new addition to society, it is not immune and is still subject to planning and good governance rules.
Sources:
Charging Up America. The growth of United States electric vehicle charging infrastructure jobs. (2024 January). The International Council on Clean Transportation. Retrieved from https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ID-28-%E2%80%93-U.S.-infra-jobs-report-letter-70112-ALT-v6.pdf
Hardy, M. (2023, March 17). EV Charging and Asset Management. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ev-charging-asset-management-michael-hardy/
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