EV Chargers Get Another Jump Start From US Gov’t, Infrastructure Bill Funds Begin Flowing

The EV charging industry received a renewed legislative boost from the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which will revive the EV charger tax incentive for homes and businesses. The latter category is key since companies like ChargePoint rely on independent ownership of the charging units they sell and install, typically focusing on retail stores and restaurants.

The new tax credit will compound an ongoing effort to support the expansion of the US’s EV charging network, which includes $7.5 billion in funding from last year’s infrastructure bill. President Biden will announce first approval to disburse $900 million from that allocation today in Detroit. Charging stations are quickly becoming critical infrastructure in the US with new emissions guidance coming out of California, which has already banned the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

Related ETF & Stocks: Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (DRIV), ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. (CHPT), Blink Charging Co. (BLNK), EVgo, Inc. (EVGO), Volta Inc. (VLTA)

EV charging stations received a renewed legislative boost in the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Though the federal tax credit for electric vehicle chargers had originally expired at the end of last year, the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Alternative Fuel Refueling Property tax credit has revived and extended the electric vehicle (EV) charger tax incentive for ten years through 2032. Per Kiplinger, businesses that that install new EV chargers or EV charging equipment will benefit from a tax incentive of up to 30% of the total cost of equipment and installation. The IRA will also increase the limit on tax credits to $100,000 per EV charger in 2023.

This is significant for the industry because some firms in the EV charging space, like ChargePoint, ascribe their growth to a unique business model wherein the company doesn’t own the stations on its network. Instead, ChargePoint says their stations are independently owned and operated by businesses that want to attract and engage employees and customers who drive EVs. ChargePoint builds and supports the charging stations, and provides mobile apps, analytics and software that let owners easily manage the chargers.

One of ChargePoint’s most well-known partnerships is with Volvo and Starbucks. Earlier this year, MRP noted the trio made a deal to install EV chargers in the coffee chain’s parking lots along a 1,350-mile route from Denver to Seattle. The chargers will be Volvo-branded and available in intervals of about 100 miles each. The project will demand about 60 DC fast chargers manufactured by ChargePoint, which can be used by any EV, but…