The Electrification Roadmap provides a public policy guide to transforming the U.S. light-duty ground transportation system from one that is oil-dependent to one powered almost entirely by electricity.
The report offers policymakers and the public a clear and accessible schematic for converting the vision of electrification into a working system that displaces oil as the nation's dominant transportation fuel and, in so doing, dramatically enhances energy security, propels economic growth, and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
The need for such a document arises from the tremendous difficulty of the task. The goal of deploying more than 200 million electric vehicles is ambitious and should not be understated. The envisioned change demands synchronized deployment of new vehicles and infrastructure on a massive scale. The existing ground transportation system represents a century of private investment and government regulation, and fundamentally altering this system requires an exceedingly careful and thorough planning process, to which this report seeks to make a helpful contribution.
The timing of this report is deliberate. Federal and state policies are proceeding apace, and those efforts are historic in nature. Never before have so many resources been brought to bear in support of electrification of transportation. Nonetheless, there is a great risk that the results of these initiatives could be less than the sum of the parts. To secure the advantages of electrification, it is not enough to deploy even millions of vehicles. In fact, only penetration rates in excess of a hundred million electric vehicles will be sufficient.
Beyond the sheer number, the manner in which vehicles enter the system will prove crucial to achieving scale at the lowest public cost and with the least disruption. The electricity grid was not designed, and does not operate presently, as an aspect of the transportation system. It is one thing to sprinkle a modest number of electric cars throughout a nation as large as the United States; it is quite another for even a seemingly small number of those cars to operate simultaneously in a specific area, let alone for millions to be densely concentrated in a single city. The recommended policies seek to ensure not only the production of vast quantities of electric vehicles, but also their seamless integration into a complex electricity grid and transportation network.
The companies and leaders who are signatories to this report affirmatively support the policy objectives and recommendations contained within. To maximize the comprehensiveness and cohesiveness of information and analysis, participants span the electrification value chain. Included are the perspectives of enterprises involved with raw materials, battery production, vehicle manufacturing and marketing, power generation, and technology, among others. This structure reflects the view that electrification entails a systemic shift encompassing multiple industries and policies that depart markedly from the incumbent transportation network. Additional voices will be added in the coming months as the group refines its work and engages the policy-making process.
Ideally, the technology and deployment of electric vehicles would emerge through regular market mechanisms. Events conclusively demonstrate that this path to electrification is unlikely, however. Therefore, if the desired transformation is to occur anytime in the foreseeable future, focused and sustained public policy will be required. All of those who contributed to this document are committed to assisting policymakers at this critical moment in the history of electrification. The Electrification Roadmap represents the best efforts of the participants to provide the nation’s leaders with accurate, timely, and actionable guidelines.
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