Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Oregon Department of Transportation issued the first solicitation in the nation  Wednesday for equipment to re-charge electric cars. Kristian Foden-Vencil explains.

The state is trying to get ahead of the pack for electric vehicles. It wants companies to come forward with designs for the charging stations that electric cars will need.

ODOT spokesman Art James, says: think of the gas pumps we pull up to – they all look about the same and operate in the same way.

Art James: “One of the things we’re trying to do is avoid some mistakes that were made in the LA areas in the late 19990s, when they had two competing technologies out – one was called inductive charging and one was conductive charging. It was sort of like the old Betamax VCR problem.”

The connector that goes from the charging station to the vehicle has already been standardized. But the company that wins the ODOT contract will provide charging stations throughout the state.

It can then try to capture the national market.