In pursuit of California’s ambitious climate goals, the state has adopted zero-emission vehicle regulations for all new passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs sold by 2035. The state’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule sets up a cap-and-trade system for manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission or near-zero-emission vehicles beginning in model year 2024. To help boost consumer confidence in electric vehicles (EVs), the state must also expand access to reliable, low-cost charging infrastructure.
However, California’s goal of installing one million public chargers by the end of 2030 requires a significant acceleration of efforts. To meet this target, the state needs to install chargers at seven times the current pace.
The charging-as-a-service solution
Charging-as-a-service (CaaS) is a new business model that could help address these challenges. Under this model, customers pay a monthly subscription fee rather than making an upfront capital investment in charging infrastructure. The CaaS provider assumes responsibility for procuring, installing, maintaining, and replacing charging equipment on behalf of the customer.
To understand how CaaS might help California expand charging stations, we recently conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 stakeholders, primarily CaaS providers and electric utilities, to identify the perceptions, challenges, and opportunities of the CaaS business model in addressing California’s charging station needs.
Our new report and policy brief offer insights and recommendations for state and local agencies, electric utilities, and charging station providers. A webinar recording is available for viewing on the right.
This study was made possible with funding received by the University of California Institute of Transportation Studies from the State of California through a one-time General Fund allocation in the 2021 State Budget Act for the Resilient and Innovative Mobility Initiative. The authors would like to thank the State of California for its support of university-based research, and especially for the funding received for this project. The authors would also like to thank the participants who agreed to participate in the interviews and those who completed the web-based screening survey. The authors would also like to thank three State agencies who advised the research team throughout the project.