An innovative online tool released today by M.J. Bradley & Associates (MJB&A), an ERM Group company, in partnership with Georgetown Climate Center and Ceres, will enable policymakers, regulators, businesses, and local leaders to use a wide range of data-rich demographic, economic and environmental mapping filters to help identify the highest priority areas for electric vehicle fast charging infrastructure deployment.

The Evaluation and Development of Regional Infrastructure for Vehicle Electrification Model, or E-DRIVE, comes at a critical moment for advancing strategic and equitable infrastructure investments as the U.S. Congress works on legislation proposing billions of dollars in investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including a call for nationwide planning and mapping efforts. 

“We are excited to release E-DRIVE at this important juncture in the development of the electric transportation market and policy,” said Michael Bradley, MJB&A Founder and ERM Senior Partner. “As policymakers, communities, utilities, and businesses look to make investments in charging infrastructure, this Model can help make smart and strategic decisions.”

The E-DRIVE Model is available for more than 99% of census tracts in the United States, and its parameters account for nearly 90% of national traffic. It offers customizable data metrics, based primarily on federal data, which rank the best locations for new charging infrastructure based on unique user priorities, which can help inform discussions between policymakers, communities, EV charging developers, and other stakeholders. 

To inform equitable infrastructure investments that prioritize communities overburdened by pollution and underserved by the transportation system, the E-DRIVE Model incorporates environmental justice data from the U.S. EPA’s EJ SCREEN and other metrics. These features will allow users to overlay demographic, economic, and environmental indicators as they consider locations for potential EV charging infrastructure investment.

“We are excited to share this resource to support communities and policymakers in thinking about where charging infrastructure is most needed,” said Kate Zyla, Executive Director of Georgetown Climate Center. “We look forward to feedback on additional metrics or considerations that would better inform these conversations, and to continue to develop E-DRIVE’s features to help ensure that all communities benefit from clean transportation investments.”

Users can focus their analysis on a region, state, metropolitan area, or county, or on areas near key transportation corridors. The highly local outputs can provide an important resource for state and local policymakers as they prepare to receive federal funding for infrastructure and will need strong information to guide their investments. The E-DRIVE Model can also be a resource for electric utilities, which have collectively announced plans to invest billions in EV charging infrastructure in the next five years and are already making decisions on products and locations.

E-DRIVE allows users to assess, rank, and visualize potential infrastructure locations with customizable metrics that can be aligned with regional, state, or local priorities. The importance of each metric can be weighted to generate scenario-specific results, which are dynamically presented and mapped.

“E-DRIVE is the first public model of its kind to feature this level of detail and accessibility, and I anticipate it will have a huge impact on communities and companies alike,” said Sara Forni, senior manager for clean vehicles at Ceres. “Major businesses, like the members of the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, are looking to make big investments in electric vehicles over the next few years. This Model will help streamline and increase the positive impact of both private and public infrastructure deployments.”

Users can also refine their analysis by EV fast charging plug type and can add data layers showing over one million commercial locations and other points of interest. Other filters include specific demographic information, such as potential access to home charging and population density.

“With the exponential growth of the U.S. EV market, we need to have an open and accessible charging infrastructure in place to support it,” said Chris King, senior vice president of eMobility Strategic Partnerships, Siemens. “This tool will not only support that need, but make sure it’s done equitably, and we at Siemens are doing our part to ensure the U.S. becomes a leader in the EV industry by expanding our domestic manufacturing of interoperable EV charging equipment.”

Going forward, MJB&A plans to schedule regular updates to incorporate market changes, stakeholder input, new data, and an expanded selection of resources. Users are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions to inform future updates to the E-DRIVE Model. Ceres will host a webinar later this fall to introduce users to the E-DRIVE Model and its potential applications. 

The national E-DRIVE Model is based on an MJB&A analysis that was conducted in collaboration with the Georgetown Climate Center to support states in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast to inform regional EV charging infrastructure planning and discussions between policymakers, local communities, and other stakeholders.

About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.

About ERM
ERM is the business of sustainability. As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, ERM partners with the world’s leading organizations, creating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlocking commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunity for future generations.

ERM’s diverse team of over 5,500 world-class experts in over 150 offices in more than 40 countries supports clients across the breadth of their organizations to operationalize sustainability. Through ERM’s deep technical expertise clients are well positioned to address their environmental, health, safety, risk and social issues. ERM calls this capability its “boots to boardroom” approach for its comprehensive service model that allows ERM to develop strategic and technical solutions that advance objectives on the ground or at the executive level. Learn more

About Georgetown Climate Center
The nonpartisan Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) seeks to advance effective climate and energy policies in the United States and serves as a resource to state and local communities that are working to cut carbon pollution and prepare for climate change. GCC informs the development of state and federal policies that reduce carbon pollution from power plants and stationary sources, support clean and resilient transportation options, and help communities adapt to climate change. Part of Georgetown University Law Center, GCC works to inform the federal dialogue with lessons from leading states and communities on climate mitigation and adaptation. The Climate Center works with states on developing innovative new policies, analyzes the provisions of federal policy relevant to state and local government, and encourages policymakers to learn from state experience. For more information about the work of GCC and additional clean energy, transportation, and adaptation resources, visit www.georgetownclimate.org.