The Biden administration on Thursday tapped 22 states and Puerto Rico to receive $623 million in grants to build electric vehicle charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure.
The funding is a part of the federal government’s $7.5 billion push to build a national EV charging network. The grants from the Federal Highway Administration come through the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure discretionary grant program. Another $5 billion is being distributed via formula grants through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
The two programs were included in the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Biden in 2021. The administration wants half of all new passenger vehicle sales in the United States to be electric vehicles by 2030.
“America led the arrival of the automotive era, and now we have a chance to lead the world in the EV revolution,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
Despite a slowdown in growth last year, U.S. drivers are increasingly going electric. There were 1.2 million EVs sold in the U.S. last year, according to estimates by Cox Automotive, and the firm expects EV sales to surpass 10% of new U.S. auto sales in 2024.
There were 47 charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure projects announced Thursday, including construction of approximately 7,500 EV charging ports. The largest projects include:
- $56 million to develop an electric freight corridor in California’s San Joaquin Valley along I–5;
- $51 million for the development of alternative charging and fueling infrastructure along several highways in Puerto Rico;
- $70 million for up to five refueling stations as part of the the Texas Hydrogen and Electric Freight Infrastructure project; and
- $64 million for a clean fuel buildout project for medium- and heavy-duty electric corridors along Interstate 10 in New Mexico.
“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,” Buttigieg said.
Other grants include $15 million to the Maryland Clean Energy Center to build 87 electric vehicle charging stations; $15 million to Energy Northwest in Washington State, to install 40 fast chargers and 12 Level 2 chargers across the western part of the state and in northern Oregon; and $1.4 million to the Chilkoot Indian Association in Alaska to build an EV charging station in the rural community of Haines.
