Field techs, industry collaboration critical to EV charging infrastructure, SAE panelists say

DETROIT — Establishing a reliable electric vehicle charging infrastructure requires cross-industry collaboration and work force development.

Charger reliability has been a top concern for EV drivers, with 1 in 5 charging attempts failing last year, according to J.D. Power.

Adding charger technicians is a clear solution, panelists said Tuesday at SAE's World Congress here. Charging companies are working to recruit field technicians to ensure that chargers are functional as EV sales climb.

"We need to make products that work. It's about trust," said Mark Bole, head of V2X & Battery Solutions at General Motors.

EVs made up 5.6 percent of U.S. light-vehicle registrations last year, up from 3.1 percent a year earlier. A push from the Biden administration and a proposed EPA standard could push EVs to more than half of new-vehicle sales by the 2030 model year and two-thirds by 2032.

Charging EVs is new to most consumers, so automakers and charging companies must prove themselves and simplify charging, Bole said.

The industry must also educate consumers on the charging experience. Justin Wilson, senior director of utility partnerships and regulatory affairs at ChargePoint, said charging and EV information should be easily found on automaker websites, at the dealership and on charging operator mobile apps.

Every step must be intuitive, he said.

High-quality chargers are critical to EV adoption and customer satisfaction, said Alex Ehrett, public policy and market development manager at charging company ABB E-mobility.

"Charging infrastructure is not set it and forget it," she said. "There is an enormous amount of blocking and tackling that still needs to be done to achieve that high level of uptime that we are all seeking."

Field teams must consistently assess the chargers to ensure that software is up to date and that the physical charger is in suitable condition, she said.

"You need to have somebody going in and changing an air filter," she said.

One of ABB E-mobility's best field engineers is a former diesel mechanic. Other field engineers are traditional electricians.

"That really speaks to the opportunity that this industry has for reskilling, upskilling and sort of shifting what that market looks like ... of what job opportunities are available to people," Ehrett said.

Creating an early pipeline of high school and community college students is important, she said.

"It's really getting to the students at a younger age so that when they're ready to enter the work force, we're eager to hire them," she said.

Rivian has recruited military veterans to help maintain its charging network, said Trent Warnke, Rivian's senior director of energy and charging.

"The technicians that are servicing the networks are really our unsung heroes. They are the ones who are out there in the rain, snow in the middle of the night and fixing it to make sure that our customers have a great experience," he said.

Education around EV infrastructure and climate goals and engineers' and technicians' roles in achieving them is also critical for recruitment, said Bole.

The opportunity to make a positive impact encourages people to raise their hands, he said.

Various stakeholders, including automakers, charger manufacturers, utility companies and charging networks, must share and standardize data to improve the charging experience and ensure that chargers remain functional, said Warnke.

Many players are already working together, especially as federal funding becomes available, but more utilities must get on board, he said.

Wilson, who worked on long-term utility resource planning before joining ChargePoint, is confident that most utility companies in the U.S. will be prepared for EV charging to scale.

They are experts at expanding power supply and future proofing, he said.

"For the vast majority of the country, our electric infrastructure is really well done," Wilson said. "I've got all the trust in the world that the utilities are going to meet the needs of transportation electrification."