To the anger of some Republican lawmakers, the government has announced that it will invest $623 million in grants to place 7,500 more EV charging stations on the road as part of President Biden's enormous $7.5 billion plan to substantially build out EV infrastructure in the US.
The financing is part of the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program, which provides the Federal Highway Administration with $2.5 billion over the next five years to establish EV charging stations in towns and along important roads. Money has also been set aside to build hydrogen corridors for medium and heavy-duty freight vehicles.
A total of $311 million would be made available to 36 "community" initiatives, including two Indian tribes in Alaska and Arizona, to establish EV and hydrogen recharging stations in libraries, schools, and public parks. The remaining $312 will be distributed to 11 "corridor" beneficiaries whose projects are located along Alternative Fuel Corridors, with the goal of filling gaps in the current network. The initiative covers 22 states and Puerto Rico, with a total of around 7,500 EV charging points being built.
Puerto Rico will get $51 million to establish charging stations along its routes. Mesa, Arizona, will get $12 million to construct 48 electric car chargers for various vehicle sizes, e-bike and e-scooter charging docks, and solar canopies to assist power generation at the stations.
In Texas, $70 million will be spent on the construction of five hydrogen fuelling stations for medium- and heavy-duty freight vehicles in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, as well as the creation of a hydrogen corridor from southern California to Texas. Ten projects in California will get funds, while four projects in Washington will receive $26.6 million. A list of awardees may be found here.
According to the Biden administration, all of this is necessary to establishing a "convenient, affordable, reliable, and made-in-America national network" of electric car chargers, with 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030. The promise of additional jobs is also included in the deal.
"America led the arrival of the automotive era, and now we have a chance to lead the world in the EV revolution - securing jobs, savings, and benefits for Americans in the process," said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. "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."
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