Working with the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, the Airforce, Army and Environmental Protection Agency, the Obama Administration said it wants to combat climate change, improve access to electrified vehicles and reduce oil dependence.

The project will offer $4.5bn for commercially accessible networks, as well as identifying cross-country routes which can be equipped with rapid chargers and hydrogen stations. This will also address future needs, for charging at up to 350kW.

Government fleets at a national, state-wide and local level will be offered discounts to purchase fleets. The Federal Government said it has already got plans in place for 500 plug-in hybrids during the 2017 financial year.

An additional 35 private companies will be encouraged to join the Workplace Charging Challenge, to provide infrastructure for employees, and the project will extend to look at ‘smart charging’ and energy storage solutions to stabilise demand on the electrical grid.

Finally, this autumn, the project will host an EV ‘hackathon’ bringing experts together to address solutions and discuss challenges facing the industry.