J.D. Power’s EV Index, an analytics tool used to track the electric vehicle market in the United States, was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to help support EV infrastructure growth initiatives in the country.
The aim is to have the index provide useful information on regional trends in terms of infrastructure growth, along with potential barriers to greater consumer adoption of EVs.
“Universally accessible, equitable, and reliable EV charging infrastructure is a cornerstone to widespread consumer adoption of EVs,” said Michael Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation and Fuels in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, in a press release from Argonne National Laboratory.
The index tracks millions of data points and separates it all into six categories: interest, availability, adoption, affordability, infrastructure, and experience. According to J.D. Power, this is done to better understand the parity of EVs with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the U.S. In doing this, the index found that a consistent lack of public charging infrastructure is one of the main barriers to EV adoption.
“It is critical that we consistently evaluate detailed trends in the availability of public chargers, specific obstacles consumers face with the existing charging network, and regional variations in consumer demand to ensure resilient grid infrastructure, provide adequate EV charging capacity and coverage, and support access to EVs by all Americans,” said Berube in a statement.
The DOE research that will be using J.D. Power’s EV Index will be led by Argonne National Laboratory, which is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. In a news release Claus Daniel, Argonne’s Associate Laboratory Director for Advanced Energy Technologies, said the data they receive will help them better understand the present EV user/charging landscape.
“This understanding will support decision-making that moves the nation closer to its clean transportation and climate goals,” said Daniel in a statement.
