GM is making good on its promise to speed up the expansion of 500 electric vehicle charging stations. GM has partnered with Pilot Travel Centers and EVgo to add conveniently located EV chargers around the country. Tesla, Ford, and GM are pioneering this movement, one new charger at a time.

GM, Pilot Travel Centers, and EVgo are adding 500 electric vehicle charging stations capable of 350 kW charging

The Washington Post says that GM, Pilot Travel Centers, and EVgo are teaming up to add 2,000 charging stalls at 500 Pilot and Flying J sites around the U.S. None of the companies involved mentioned the cost of this new project, but a statement noted that government grant money would be a big help. There are also new programs from utility companies to assist in such a large project.

GM plans to start construction as early as this summer, hoping that the first chargers will be operational sometime in 2023. GM spokesman Philip Lienert says the companies expect to complete the network in a few years. EVgo has an eXtend program to help operate and maintain the stations once installed. The DC Fast-Charging stations are slated to charge up to 350 kW.

“Many of these sites will feature canopies to help protect customers from the elements while charging, as well as pull-through capability allowing convenient charging for electric pickup trucks and SUVs pulling trailers.”

GM

If you have been on a road trip lately, one of the most popular stations across the U.S. includes the Pilot Flying J sites. Placed in convenient areas along the highway system, this will help electric vehicles to take advantage of interstate travel.

This is only a portion of the planned electric vehicle charging stations

These will be a portion of the 500,000 new electric vehicle chargers that the infrastructure bill from The White House promised. The goal is to have those stations up and running by 2030, which is quickly approaching.

Bill H.R.3684 offered $65 billion in upgrades for the electric grid and $7.5 billion for new electric vehicle charging stations. National Climate Advisor, Gina McCarthy, says that $7.5 billion has been a tremendous help to get this project started. “It’s exciting to see leading companies respond by setting their own ambitious goals, and investing in a convenient, reliable, and affordable nationwide charging network,” McCarthy told The Washington Post.

The infrastructure bill will also help with the promised 500,000 charging outlets. Outlets are different from a station as you can have multiple outlets on each charging station. Private investments could help fill that gap. There are currently 124,000 public EV charging outlets at over 49,000 stations. The government has not awarded any grants with the $2.5 billion left slated to go toward charging projects.

Keep an eye out for more EV chargers on your summer road trip

S&P Global Mobility Principal Analyst Stephanie Brinley says the new charging stations are a big step toward making people comfortable traveling across the country in an EV. “The infrastructure of electric vehicles needs to be a sort of combination of locations like Pilot. It probably needs this level of support from many different voices to make it work,” Brinley said.

Currently, Pilot has more than 750 locations across 44 states. It also has five locations in Canada. GM has pledged to make only electric vehicles by 2035 and has promised to have 30 EV models to choose from by 2025. The automaker says it plans to invest $750 million in chargers but hasn’t said how much has been spent.

If you plan on taking your new electric vehicle on a road trip this summer, these are some of the best and worst routes to check out.