On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced it had awarded 47 grants in 22 states to expand the nation’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network.
The grants, totaling $623 million, will fund the design and construction of more an estimated 7,500 EV charging ports – part of the Biden administration’s efforts to ensure than the nation’s EV charging station network includes at least 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030.
Funded through the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant program created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the grants will fund charging stations that will complement the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program to build the “backbone” of the EV charging station network across the country.
“America led the arrival of the automotive era, and now we have a chance to lead the world in the EV revolution—securing jobs, savings, and benefits for Americans in the process,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “This funding will help ensure that EV chargers are accessible, reliable, and convenient for American drivers, while creating jobs in charger manufacturing, installation, and maintenance for American workers.”
The FHA announced $311 million in awards to 36 “community” projects that will invest in EV charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure, and another $312 million for 11 “corridor” project located along roadways designated as Alternative Fuel Corridors that fill in the gaps along the national charging and alternative fueling network.
“From my time working at the local level, I know that finding electric vehicle charging in a community is different from finding charging along highways,” U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg said. “USDOT is proud to make an investment that will provide Americans with convenient, straightforward charging options in their communities.”
Awards included $10 million for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to build EV charging stations in multi-family housing in disadvantaged communities and rural areas; $15 million for the Maryland Clean Energy Center for 87 EV charging stations across the state; and $70 million for North Central Texas Council of Governments to build five hydrogen fueling stations for medium- to heavy-duty freight trucks in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, creating a hydrogen corridor from southern California to Texas.