The Coming Urban EV Crisis No One Talks About

The world is buzzing with excitement about electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Governments are setting ambitious targets, automakers are ramping up production, and consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental benefits of switching to electric. But there’s one critical aspect of the EV transition that hardly anyone is talking about: where will all these vehicles actually charge?

In dense urban areas, the infrastructure simply isn’t ready to support the rise of electric vehicles. The energy grids in many cities are already stretched thin, and there’s little indication that they’ll be able to keep up with the increasing demand from EVs. In fact, many people living in apartments or multi-family dwellings can’t even charge their vehicles at home. The problem is compounded by the fact that utilities are struggling to expand charging infrastructure at a pace that matches the growing demand.

As much as the conversation around EVs has focused on the vehicles themselves, the charging infrastructure needed to support them is being overlooked. Without reliable and accessible charging options, urban EV adoption will hit a major roadblock.

The reality is that most people can’t charge at home—especially in dense cities where multi-family housing is prevalent. Home charging stations are typically more viable for those who live in single-family homes with off-street parking, leaving a large portion of the population without the ability to charge overnight. As a result, urban drivers are left with few options but to rely on public charging stations, which are often scarce and not strategically placed for ease of use.

Utility companies are aware of this problem but are struggling to keep up with the pace of expansion. The infrastructure needed to build sufficient charging stations and upgrade the power grid is expensive, time-consuming, and complex. With demand increasing rapidly, utilities can’t build fast enough to keep up with the influx of EVs on the road.

The Potential Solutions

There are basically three ways to approach this need for urban adoption,

1. Keep going in the direction we are now but spread out chargers in parking lots, on public streets, at convenience stores and other logical locations where people park and visit regularly.

2. Adopt battery swapping technology that would affect the entire EV ecosystem. Change the battery configurations of new vehicles and create locations where drivers can pull in and swap out their batteries in mere minutes. There are two major Chinese companies offering this now in China CATL and NIO (see our story in this newsletter).

3. Develop the technology to charge vehicles with embedded charging in our road system that charge vehicles as they drive. Again, a costly and difficult situation given the condition of many of the roads in our country.

The cost and determination that it will take to make any of these options happen will be enormous. This is an undertaking akin to the space program or other major societal changes. The time to act is now. The EV crisis isn’t something that will happen in 2050—it’s already here.

As more cities begin to shift toward EV adoption, the demand for accessible charging infrastructure will only increase. If we continue to ignore the importance of accessible and efficient charging networks, we risk stalling the momentum of the entire EV transition. There is no good way to present a charger to ever user who needs one in a dense urban setting. The dream of an all electric fleet of vehicles in the US may not be achievable without a massive rethink.

The answer lies in creating charging solutions that are invisible, fast to install, and accessible to all. Distributed EV infrastructure and the adoption of new technologies for charging is key to overcoming the urban charging crisis and ensuring that EV adoption continues to grow without roadblocks.

We don’t need to wait until 2050 to make meaningful change. The future of EV charging is already here—let’s start building it where people need it.

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