The act earmarked $400 million investment in electric vehicle technology, with Coulomb Technologies, ECOtality and General Motors working together to improve the country’s public charging infrastructure. President Obama has set targets of one million electric vehicles on American roads by 2015.

In the three years since the act was passed, the US Department of Energy has also invested over $5bn dollars in grants and loans to help domestic manufacturers develop and build vehicles. Some 13,000 EVs and 22,000 charging points are expected by December 2013.

The DOE is also giving $5bn to local governments and private companies to encourage them to install further charging points. It will partner with companies including Google to provide an accurate map of where each point is located.

‘Investing in the US electric vehicle industry will help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, create jobs for U.S. workers, and provide American families and businesses with alternatives to protect them from future spikes in gas prices,’ said Secretary Chu.

‘Building energy-saving electric cars and trucks, and the infrastructure to power them, will help Americans save money at the pump and improve the nation's energy security.’