How to Combat Electric Car Range Anxiety

Picture this: You’re cruising along in your brand-new Chevy Volt. Your electric car is saving you money. You’re helping the environment. Life is good. But then you look at your dashboard and realize — oops — your battery is running perilously low.

You pass gas station after gas station, but that’s not going to help you now. Your car needs a fix, and you don’t know where to go. It’s a fear that dogs many electric vehicle owners: Just where will they charge their car?

Range anxiety is a real barrier to electric car adoption. According to a 2015 survey from Navigant Research, a clean energy technology firm, more than a third of consumers said their biggest worry about owning an electric vehicle is a lack of charging infrastructure.

Their worries aren’t unfounded. Electric vehicle sales are expected to skyrocket over the next couple decades, yet there are limited charging options for people who aren’t able to charge their cars at home or for those wanting to travel long distances. But startups, big automakers, utilities, investors, and local and state governments are looking to change that.

There are two types of charging stations: public and private. Pretty much anyone can charge up at a public station, located at shopping malls, hotels, and other areas where people might spend a few hours. Some automakers, such as Tesla, operate their own public stations that only their cars can use.