ChargePoint, the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network, and NATSO, which represents America's travel plazas and truckstops, today announced a partnership to create a National Highway Charging Collaborative to extend EV charging to every corner of the US.

Over the next decade, the collaborative will leverage $1 billion in capital to deploy charging at more than 4,000 travel plazas and fuel stops that serve highway travelers and rural communities.

This expansion will link America’s drivers to a growing charging network in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, increasing access to charging as EV adoption accelerates. The effort will not only enable long distance electric travel along major routes but will also provide vital access to charging in rural communities.

By 2040, some analysts expect that 40 percent of new vehicle sales will be electric with at least 100 new EV models expected to hit American roadways within the next five years. 

The partnership was formalized as part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed today by Pasquale Romano, President and CEO of ChargePoint, and Lisa Mullings, President and CEO of NATSO. As part of the MOU, the two organizations agreed that the National Highway Charging Collaborative will, by 2030:

• Deploy charging infrastructure at 4,000 travel centers and fuel stops, leveraging $1 billion in capital.
• Provide charging infrastructure at fueling locations across the United States with a focus on connecting rural communities.
• connect existing Federal Highway Administration-designated FAST Act corridors.
• Work together to achieve policy outcomes to support each of these objectives.

The money will be raised through private operators, state and local governments, private infrastructure funds and others, ChargePoint Chief Executive Pasquale Romano said.

In June 2019, ChargePoint signed a deal with VW subsidiary Electrify America to make the United States’ two largest EV charging networks accessible to customers of both companies.

ChargePoint, founded in 2007, has raised $538 million from investors including Daimler, BMW and Siemens in Germany, as well as U.S. energy firms Chevron and America Electric Power.