The US government announced Aug. 27 that it would provide new funding of $521 million to continue building out electric vehicle charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure across 29 states, eight Federally Recognized Tribes and the District of Columbia, including the deployment of more than 9,200 EV charging ports across the country.
The new EV infrastructure aims to increase the access and reliability to communities across the country and provides EV charging to light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles along designated highways, interstates and major roadways.
According to a press note released by the US Transportation Department (DOT), there are more than 192,000 publicly available EV charging ports with approximately 1,000 new public chargers being added each week.
It said that the EV charging infrastructure is being built in rural, suburban, urban and tribal communities alike, supplementing private investment and filling critical gaps where charging is needed most. Additionally, this buildout aligns with the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy investing in EV charging for trucks along one of the nation's largest freight corridors in America.
Moreover, the newly announced grants are made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program and a 10% set aside from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program.
Of the new funding, about $321 million will be allocated for 41 community projects that expand EV charging infrastructure within communities across the country, while the remaining $200 million will be allocated to 10 corridor fast-charging projects that build out the national charging and alternative-fueling network along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors.
“As we reach this important milestone in building out the national EV charging network, FHWA (Federal Highway Administration of US DOT) remains steadfast in our continued work supporting the deployment of hundreds of thousands of EV chargers over the next several years,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “The EV charging and alternative fueling projects receiving awards today will deliver clean transportation in communities nationwide and put America on a path to lead the world in zero-emission transportation technology while creating good-paying jobs and reducing our carbon footprint.”
