First round of Transportation Department funding for EV charging in communities, neighborhoods opens

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it was accepting applications to fund EV charging and fueling infrastructure projects across the country.

The first round of Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant program funds will provide $2.5 billion over the next five years to cities, counties, local governments, and tribes. The funding makes up to $700 million from fiscal years 2022 and 2023 available to strategically deploy EV charging and other alternative vehicle-fueling infrastructure projects in publicly accessible locations in urban and rural settings, as well along the Alternative Fuel Corridor (AFC).

“Extending EV charging infrastructure into traditionally underserved areas will ensure that equitable and widespread EV adoption takes hold,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said. “Ensuring that charging stations are more visible and accessible in our communities addresses the concerns many American drivers have when considering making the switch to electric.”

The CFI grant program would build on the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program and would further the Biden Administration’s goal of building a national network of 500,000 public EV charging stations and reducing national greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 52 percent by 2030.

“By helping bring EV charging to communities across the country, this Administration is modernizing our infrastructure and creating good jobs in the process,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “With today’s announcement, we are taking another big step forward in creating an EV future that is convenient, affordable, reliable, and accessible to all Americans.”

The funding is divided into two grant funding categories – the Community Program, which provides $1.25 billion to deploy EV charging infrastructure and hydrogen, propane, or natural gas fueling infrastructure in communities, and the Corridor Program, which provides $1.25 billion to deploy EV charging infrastructure and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure along designated alternative fuel corridors (AFCs). The charging stations may be located on any public road or in other publicly accessible locations.

“FHWA is committed to helping towns and cities, large and small, build modern, sustainable infrastructure that promotes equity and opportunity for their local economies and net-zero emissions for the nation by 2050,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said. “By encouraging the adoption and expansion of EV charging and alternative fuels, CFI Program investments have the potential to significantly address the transportation sector’s outsized contributions to climate change.”