U.S. opens $2.5B funding program to build EV chargers in urban, rural communities

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration opened applications Tuesday for a $2.5 billion funding program to expand access to electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities across the U.S.

The discretionary grant program was created by the bipartisan infrastructure law signed in 2021 and provides the multibillion-dollar funding over five years to eligible applicants including states, cities, local agencies and tribes.

The first round of funding makes up to $700 million available from fiscal years 2022-23 to strategically deploy publicly accessible EV chargers and hydrogen, propane or natural gas fueling infrastructure along designated highways, interstates and major roadways as well as in downtown areas and neighborhoods, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged communities.

The grant funding is divided into two categories:

— A $1.25 billion community program for EV charging and alternative fueling infrastructure built on any public road or other publicly accessible locations such as schools or parks.

— A $1.25 billion corridor program for projects along designated alternative fuel corridors.

Applications are due May 30.

The Federal Highway Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said it "seeks to fund projects that address environmental justice, particularly for communities such as rural and low- and moderate-income neighborhoods that may disproportionately experience the consequences of climate change and other pollutants."

As part of President Joe Biden's Justice40 Initiative — a governmentwide effort to ensure federal investments reach disadvantaged communities — the administration also will ensure at least 40 percent of the grant program's benefits flow to those populations, particularly rural and tribal, a senior administration official told reporters in a press briefing Monday.

The administration said the funding opportunity is a "key step" toward achieving Biden's goal of building a national network of 500,000 public EV charging stations.

As of Tuesday, there were nearly 133,000 public charging outlets scattered across 51,537 station locations in the U.S., according to Energy Department data.

"Extending EV charging infrastructure into traditionally underserved areas will ensure that equitable and widespread EV adoption takes hold," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. "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 program is designed to fill in EV charging gaps and builds on an additional $5 billion provided to states over the next five years to achieve Biden's vision of a cross-country road trip that is compatible with EVs.

In September, the administration said it had approved all of the EV infrastructure deployment plans submitted by the states, D.C. and Puerto Rico ahead of schedule under the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.

EV chargers constructed with funds from that program and the discretionary grant program must adhere to minimum standards finalized last month.

Those standards, in part, require federally funded charging stations to have at least four 150-kilowatt direct current fast charging ports capable of simultaneously charging four EVs. Those chargers must be working 97 percent of the time, according to the finalized rules. The standards also require real-time information on station location, availability and pricing that is publicly accessible through mapping applications.

All EV chargers funded through the infrastructure law must be built in the U.S., and any iron or steel charger enclosures or housing must be made domestically, effective immediately. By July 2024, 55 percent of the chargers' overall cost must come from American-made components.