BP says it plans to invest $1 billion by 2030 into electric vehicle (EV) charging across the United States. The company says a cornerstone of the investment includes Hertz and BP announcing an intention to bring fast-charging infrastructure to Hertz locations in major cities, such as Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington, DC.
A number of the fast-charging installations will include Gigahub locations. These are large-scale fast charging hubs, such as one location previously announced by BP and Hertz at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The hubs will serve rideshare and taxi drivers, car rental customers and the general public at high-demand locations, such as airports. The buildout will be informed by telematics from Hertz’s fleet of connected cars.
“This is about more, faster. We’re bringing more, fast-charging options to more Americans for faster EV adoption,” said Dave Lawler, chairman and president of BP America. “Working alongside Hertz, we’re excited to drive the future of mobility.”
EV charging is one of BP’s five strategic transition growth engines in which the company expects to significantly grow investment through this decade. The other transition growth engines include bioenergy, hydrogen, convenience and renewables & power. Although the proportion may be different in the U.S., by 2030, BP says it aims for half its annual global investment to go into these businesses.
BP is aiming to enhance its ability to offer lower carbon transport solutions for customers by expanding EV charging and strategic convenience sites. Today, BP has 22,000 EV charge points worldwide and aims for more than 100,000 globally by 2030 – around 90% rapid or ultra-fast.
