As part of President Biden’s $7.5 billion initiative to expand electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in the United States, the government has announced a $623 million investment in grants to deploy 7,500 additional EV charging stations nationwide.
This funding is allocated under the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program, providing the Federal Highway Administration with $2.5 billion for the next five years.
The objective is to establish EV charging fueling stations both in local communities and along major highways.
Additionally, funds are designated for the development of hydrogen corridors to support medium- and heavy-duty freight trucks.
An allocation of $311 million will be extended to support 36 “community” projects, encompassing two Indian Tribes in Alaska and Arizona.
The remaining $312 million will be directed towards 11 “corridor” recipients, strategically situated along roadways identified as Alternative Fuel Corridors.
This initiative intends to address gaps in the current network, spanning 22 states and Puerto Rico, the comprehensive project aims to construct approximately 7,500 EV charging ports.
Charging Station Initiative Targets Local and Interstate Use
For clarification, the initiative focuses on deploying Level 2 charging outlets for local communities and Level 3 for rapid charging stations situated along interstate highways.
Specifically, Puerto Rico is allocated $51 million to expand charging infrastructure along its corridors.
Mesa, Arizona, is set to receive $12 million for the development of 48 electric vehicle chargers catering to various vehicle sizes, charging docks for e-bikes and e-scooters, and the installation of solar canopies to facilitate electricity generation at these stations.
In Texas, $70 million will be utilized to establish five hydrogen fueling stations tailored for medium- and heavy-duty freight trucks in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.
Additionally, a hydrogen corridor spanning from southern California to Texas will be established. California is set to benefit from grants across 10 projects, while Washington will receive approximately $26.6 million for four designated projects. A detailed list of recipients is available here.
The Biden administration underscores the significance of this endeavor in constructing a “convenient, affordable, reliable, and made-in-America national network” of electric vehicle chargers, with the goal of having around 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030.
The commitment to generating new employment opportunities is also an integral part of this comprehensive package.