Solving the Electric Vehicle Charging Conundrum

Fixing the Future

Like a lot of people, you may be thinking about trading in your car. Me too. The case, morally and even financially, for an all-electric car is becoming stronger and stronger.

And yet, what about recharging?

What’s it like going from, say Pittsburgh to New York’s Hudson Valley—a trip that doesn’t even have a solid cellular connection? What about a road trip my partner to Yosemite and back? And even locally, how do you charge up if you live in a townhouse or apartment? Without a driveway and a garage, can you set up charging at home? Will we have a universal standard for charging? What exactly is fast charging?

Basically, if you’re like me, you’re a bundle of questions. Fortunately, a fellow IEEE Spectrum contributing editor is a bundle of answers.

John Voelcker has been reporting on cars and the automotive industry for almost as long as he’s been driving. He’s also a contributing editor to Car and Driver, and is the editor of Green Car Reports. His work has also been featured in Wired, Popular Science, and elsewhere. He’s an actual engineer, with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford. And he’s our guest today.