bp pulse's EV charging station in the Energy Corridor

Two multinational oil and gas giants are expanding their electric vehicle infrastructure in a significant move toward embracing additional energy value chains.

bp’s electric vehicle charging subsidiary, bp Pulse, has opened its first U.S. EV charging station at the company’s Energy Corridor headquarters. The station, offering 24 high-speed EV charge points, is part of bp’s plan to invest $1 billion in EV charging infrastructure by 2030, with the goal of $500 million by the end of 2025.

"This project will bring fast, reliable charging to EV drivers when and where they need it, helping support faster electric-vehicle adoption in the US,” said Sujay Sharma, CEO of bp Pulse Americas. 

bp has made significant investments in the energy transition. In 2022, bp announced it was buying Archaea Energy, a renewable natural gas company. Last year, the company received more than $33 million in federal funding for its two commercial-scale carbon storage sites along the Gulf Coast.

Shell also plans to grow its public charging network for electric vehicles by divesting “around 500 Shell-owned sites (including joint ventures) a year in 2024 and 2025,” according to its Energy Transition Strategy 2024 report. The report did not detail where the divestments would occur. 

At the end of 2023, Shell had more than 50,000 public EV charge points intending to reach 200,000 by 2030. 

In recent years, Houston has improved its EV infrastructure. A recent study by iSeeCars found that Houston improved by more than 30% in infrastructure, ranking in the top 10 U.S. cities for improvement in 2023.

According to Evolve Houston, a nonprofit organization that works to increase EV adoption, there are more than 400 EV charging stations in Houston.

bp and Shell are two of the more than 20 member companies of the Partnership’s Houston Energy Transition Initiative’s Steering Committee, which collectively guides HETI’s efforts to leverage Houston’s position as an industry leader to accelerate global solutions for an energy-abundant, low-carbon future.

Learn more about Houston's energy business climate.