The push to build 50,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the U.S. has attracted a land rush of startups and investors and on Thursday the Biden Administration announced nearly $5 billion will be distributed to states over five years to build out the network.
States are expected to distribute most of the funds to private entities to build and operate the charging stations.
The total amount available to states in fiscal year 2021 will be $615 million, while officials said a second competitive grant program will be announced later in 2022. Of the $615 million, Texas is being funded the most—$60.3 million—while California follows by a close second at $56.8 million. Other large and populous states are getting higher funding than smaller, less populous states, with Hawaii getting the least at $2.6 million.
Over all five years, Texas will receive $407.8 million for EV infrastructure funding, followed by California at $383.6 million. The funds are being allocated from the $1 trillion infrastructure act passed by Congress and signed by President Biden in November.
The funding distribution shows a clear preference to support EV charging stations along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors created by the states and D.C., particularly along the Interstate Highway System. That includes 165,722 miles of the national highway system.
Stations will have to be installed every 50 miles and not more than a mile off the interstate, according to a 31-page guidance memorandum.
Stations will have at least 600 kilowatts of total capacity, with ports for at least four cars that can simultaneously deliver at least 250 kilowatts each. They must be accessible to the general public. Most states are expected to contract with private sector companies to install and operate stations and the federal money can support up to 80% of the cost of the stations.
Early in the development of the infrastructure act, Biden had pushed for 50,000 charging stations nationwide and had called for half of new cars sold in 2030 to be electric.
On Tuesday, the White House announced a series of steps towards improving the EV capability, including groundbreaking for Tritium’s first U.S. manufacturing facility in Lebanon, Tenn. It will produce up to 30,000 Buy America-compliant DC faster chargers per year, according to a fact sheet.
Siemens has also stepped up to say it will produce 1 million EV chargers by 2025. ABB will expand operations to include Level 2 and DC fast chargers. FreeWire Technologies has announced a research, manufacturing and testing facility in Newark, California. Dunamis Clean Energy Partners will make Level 2 EV chargers and charging connectors in a new facility in Detroit starting in the summer.
The infrastructure law sets aside $7 billion for securing and EV supply chain while providing another $7.5 billion for the charging network. An EV charging action plan was announced in December.
In addition to a focus on major highways, the Biden Administration has issued a toolkit for planning and funding EV infrastructure in rural areas.
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