The White House announced a planned series of steps to work toward a planned network of 500,000 EV charging stations across the nation’s highways and rural communities.

The White House said in a statement, “The Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Department of Energy, is proposing new standards to make charging electric vehicles (EVs) a convenient, reliable, and affordable for all Americans, including when driving long distances.” 

The White House’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $7.5 billion for EV charging infrastructure, with the money broken into two components. The first component comprises $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program which will build out charging infrastructure along highway corridors, and $2.5 billion in local grants, which will help build charging infrastructure in local and rural communities that are underserved. Applications will open later this year.

The program will require EV charging stations every 50 miles along the national highway system, all within one mile of the highway. Each station will require four DC fast-charging ports, as well as standard AC charging ports. Charging stations would have to provide network connectivity, as well as real time pricing and availability, and operational state for monitoring and reporting across the network.

This push comes as the government is desperately trying to ameliorate the effects of sky-high gas and fuel prices on the country. Many see the focus on EVs as a way to promote energy independence and reduce the effects of climate change.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, on a call with reporters said, “If we’re going to build out infrastructure like we haven’t done since the Eisenhower era, we have to do it right.”