Column: Oil giants embrace EV challenge

Oil and gas producers are facing a choice: Exacerbate the climate crisis or become part of the solution.

That was the message in a November report published by the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy sector.

"Clean-energy progress will continue with or without oil and gas producers," said agency executive director Fatih Birol. "However, the journey to net zero emissions will be more costly, and harder to navigate, if the sector is not on board."

Becoming leaders in the electric vehicle charging market may be a key part of oil and gas companies' clean energy transformation. And they have the deep pockets and fueling expertise the auto industry needs to build out America's charging map.

In this week's issue, we explore the potential for consolidation within the so-far-unprofitable EV charging market. The charging startups that have created the current public charging station system consistently report large losses. Their success depends on a laundry list of factors outside their control, such as on-time vehicle launches, smooth infrastructure expansion with utilities and local municipalities, regulatory approvals and so on.

Charging is their big bet. Unlike the automakers that can rely on profit from their internal combustion vehicles until EVs become lucrative, charging startups need their products to be profitable quickly.

Oil and gas companies have that same laundry list as they add EV chargers, but much of their groundwork is already set. They have filling stations at convenience stores in high-traffic areas, and their well-capitalized businesses cushion risk, allowing for delayed profits.

Climate and sustainability goals have certainly been part of oil and gas companies' business plans, but the oil giants have largely observed the charging map from the sidelines until this year, when Shell bought Volta and BP ordered $100 million of Tesla chargers.

In the transition to electric vehicles, eager startups have begun to put the charging pieces into place. Nearly 160,000 charging ports are now scattered across the U.S., according to the Department of Energy. But in the long run, the commanders of the oil market may be the ones to bring the energy the charging sector needs.