Biden-Harris Admin Opens $1.3B Funding Opportunity to Expand National EV Charging Network

The Biden-Harris Administration has opened applications for a $1.3 billion funding opportunity to develop electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities and along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways to accelerate public and private investment in clean transportation.

The funding opportunity will address requirements for charging at multi-family housing and destinations where vehicles are parked. CFI also allows applicants not eligible for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) to get the required funding to ensure grants help disadvantaged communities join the EV revolution. The investments from CFI also help support zero-emission freight infrastructure, helping implement the National Zero-Emission Freight Strategy.  

The efforts will help deploy a network of convenient, reliable Level 2 and DC fast EV chargers across the country, along with jobs building and maintaining the network demands. The President aims to build a national network of 500,000 public EV charging stations and reduce national greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

“Doubling down on electrification is more important than ever to our economic prosperity and national security. With the rest of the world pushing down on the accelerator, we are moving fast to position the United States as the global leader in the future that everyone is racing toward," said Joint Office Executive Director Gabe Klein. 

The funding opportunity is due to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s signature EV charging investments: the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program and funds from the NEVI Formula Program set aside for strategic grants to states and local governments to deploy EV chargers. 

The previous round of CFI funding benefited 47 projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico, supporting the construction of approximately 7,500 EV charging ports.

The CFI Program is divided into two distinct grant funding categories:

• Community Charging and Fueling Grants: This program will strategically deploy publicly accessible EV charging infrastructure and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities.
• Alternative Fuel Corridor Grants: This program will strategically deploy publicly accessible EV charging infrastructure and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure along designated AFCs.

A difference for EV charging projects in the funding round is that the maximum distance from an AFC has been increased from one mile to five miles to align with the maximum distance for other CFI-eligible fuels. Increasing the maximum distance for EV charging will help connect corridors to communities, increase developer flexibility, help utilities incorporate new load into the grid, and accelerate charging infrastructure deployment.