We stand today on the cusp of a transportation revolution, one unmatched by anything since Karl Benz first freed the world with his powered horseless carriages.  The advent of electric vehicles promises to advance personal and mass transportation in the most clean and efficient way yet invented. However, our momentum is in jeopardy if we do not strategically plan for how best to deliver the electronic fuel needed to support this rapidly growing fleet of vehicles.

We should define our charging needs by thinking in a fresh way about how our world can look, 10, 20 years from today, and not base our thinking on how the world looked 10, 20 or 30 years ago.

A National Charging Initiative with its aim to hurdle the infrastructure obstacle is clearly needed.  It is simply essential.  An effective strategy should scope how much energy the EV revolution needs, where it needs it and when.  It should then catalyze the industry to solve technological problems through innovation. We can be smart and also inclusive of all solutions – whether that is plug-in, docking or wireless charging, as we move forward.

Concrete steps within a National Charging Initiative are outlined by ZETA’s Roadmap to 2030 Policy Platform, including federal investment in public EV charging infrastructure, the establishment of model building codes, and a variety of tweaks to existing policies to catapult charging upgrades forward – especially for frontline communities and medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

We stand today on the cusp of a transport revolution.  Behind us, receding into the distance, are gasoline vehicles and the full-empty-full gasoline fueling model.  Ahead of us, is an almost blank vista.  We can paint on that vista any future picture we want, but as we stand today, the pencil lines of our future are already being sketched – and to me, they still look too much like the world we are leaving behind.

As we advocate a National Charging Initiative, let’s be bold and brave and free from the shackles of our old thinking, so we can deliver those clean skies and at the same time deliver the clean streets that our children can enjoy.