Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)

The last few years have, after much inaction, seen a flurry of new policies informed by the looming threat of climate change. Among these has been the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which will spend almost $5 billion by 2027 in order to build out a national network of fast-charging stations along federal interstate highways.

But where are those chargers being installed, and will they be reliable when someone turns up and needs to charge? We spoke to Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, which was created to oversee the government’s EV charging investment, to find out more.

Klein’s office is meant to act as a “front door” for the federal government for charging infrastructure. “We are made up of staff from DOT and DOE as well as in the national labs, and we are really focused on bringing technical expertise, alignment between government and the private sector, helping to facilitate industry standards, along with our partners,” Klein told Ars recently.