Home > EV Infrastructure Hub and Spoke Accelerator
In response to the White House EV Acceleration Challenge, the EC has launched a new initiative, the EV Infrastructure Hub and Spoke Accelerator, curating an ambitious set of actions and supplemental resources that allows governmental entities, with an emphasis on rural and low-income communities, and community-based organizations to leverage new federal funding and accelerate transportation electrification. The Accelerator aims to impact all 50 states and U.S. territories and at least 500 cities nationwide, assisting with the equitable disbursement of federal funding and EV deployment.
Through the EV Accelerator, resources will be tailored to specific audiences and shared through an innovative spoke model via our network partners to achieve at-scale electrification. Resources will be distributed through direct communication, webinars, op-eds, and more.
The EC actions under this newly-launched initiative that align with the White House categories include the following:
The EV Funding Finder is a new interactive, user-friendly tool that allows public and private entities to identify multiple pathways to funding transportation electrification initiatives. The EC created the EV Funding Finder to help stakeholders navigate through an unprecedented investment in transportation electrification at the federal level so that every cent of new and old federal funding may be used efficiently, effectively, and equitably to meet ambitious transportation electrification goals. In addition to identifying multiple funding pathways, the EV Funding Finder shows users how funding can be stacked and paired with other programs and where technical assistance is available. The EV Funding Finder includes nearly three dozen funding streams and has helped more than 500 users thus far identify funding options. The EC updates the EV Funding Finder as more information becomes available.
This resource also allows consumers to make informed new and used car-buying decisions for EVs.
The issue briefs aim to educate state public utility commissioners and staff on the issues facing the utilities in their states in terms of medium-and heavy-duty EV adoption. The issue briefs will cover the following areas: fleets as a service, reports and tools, depot charging needs and challenges, and distribution line planning for EVs. Still to come in 2023: 3 issue briefs on reports and tools, depot charging challenges and solutions, and distribution line planning. These issue briefs are in partnership with the Alliance for Transportation Electrification.
This report will examine the role of non-traditional state agencies in the transition to EVs. For example, what do state fire marshal agencies need to do to prepare for the transition to EVs? What roles must state commerce, tourism, and economic development departments play in successfully transitioning to transportation electrification? This report will examine the actions state agencies need to take now to accelerate EV adoption and will be released in mid-2023.
This webinar series brings the latest and most pressing EV infrastructure issues to the forefront to discuss and find common solutions. Best practices are also discussed on these webinars. Past webinars have discussed topics related to site design and local government and industry engagement. Future webinars will discuss topics related to federal funding and utility engagement. The EC commits to six webinars in 2023 as part of this Accelerator Initiative, reaching thousands of policymakers combined.
The EC has a long history of working with local governments on transportation electrification. The renewed effort will focus on supporting 25 local governments with developing applications for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant and other IRS/BIL funding programs, engaging stakeholders, and accelerating their progress and leadership.
Throughout 2023, the EC will engage similar leading organizations and national associations to brainstorm new technical resources needed, convene partners, broaden the reach of our work, and be a unique resource. This effort will ensure that federal funding is being implemented with maximum impact.
The EC’s new National Parks and EVs Initiative launched in April 2023 and is focused on electrifying the vehicle fleets of rangers and the public transit options at national parks while also providing new access to EV charging infrastructure within parks and at gateway communities for use by travelers and park visitors. This initiative complements the National EV Infrastructure (NEVI) program and the EV charging stations built along alternative-fuel corridors, providing greater access to all Americans to our nation’s natural treasures.
The EV rural roundtable series in 2023 brings together decision-makers, community members, utilities, and the EV industry to share resources and identify project opportunities to advance transportation electrification and equity in rural communities. Given the focus on rural communities as eligible recipients for many of the federal funding programs passed in the BIL and IRA, these roundtables will serve as an opportunity for rural communities to learn and understand the current federal funding programs.
The Veterans and EVs Initiative is a new effort by the EC to engage veterans and have them show their support for EVs to improve national security and energy security. With the new federal incentives to assist with car-buying decisions, this initiative aims to help veterans drive electric. This initiative will feature two events in 2023.
The 2023 State Infrastructure Cohort is an effort to unite state agencies to make the process and implementation of understanding federal funding programs, such as NEVI and the CFI grant program, along with new programs, such as the Carbon Reduction Program, more accessible and more easily achieved. The current Cohort includes 11 states from across the country. Building off the EC’s work engaging state agencies with their fleet transition, this Infrastructure Cohort uses a collective approach to provide information and share best practices to overcome final barriers to greater EV adoption and EV charging station deployment.
The EC created the Dashboard for Rapid Vehicle Electrification (DRVE) Tool to provide easy-to-use turnkey analysis for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty fleet electrification, assessing over 500,000 vehicles across thousands of fleets since launch. By designing this custom-made tool with partner Atlas Public Policy, this total cost of ownership (TCO) tool allows users to upload simple fleet data into a unique, Excel-based tool that analyzes and assesses the best fit for EV deployment within minutes, significantly shortening timing from traditional fleet analysis work. This tool works for private-sector and public fleets, including local and state fleets, and is freely available for fleet use. This tool will now allow fleets to assess how federal tax credits, such as 45W, further impact their cost when going electric.
The Climate Mayors EV Purchasing Collaborative is an unprecedented effort between cities nationwide to leverage their collective buying power and accelerate the conversion of municipal fleets to electric. The Collaborative also provides training, best practices, educational resources, and analysis support, creating a one-stop shop to support EV transitions for public fleets. In partnership with the Collaborative, the EC developed www.driveEVfleets.org, a turnkey, one-stop online procurement portal providing municipalities equal access to competitively bid on electric vehicles and infrastructure. Over 6,000 EVs have been committed through this effort and will pivot in 2023 to guide fleets on federal funding, charging infrastructure, and tax credits.
As more employees return to the workplace, EV charging access will become increasingly important, especially for employees without dedicated EV charging at home. The soon-to-launch Charge@Work program will be a national workplace EV charging campaign to recruit and educate workplaces on the importance of providing charging to employees and visitors, offering technical support to lead scaled deployment across the country. The EC will work with peer organizations in developing and implementing technical support and educational content, detailing each respective step in the process to make deployment as easy as possible. Over 50,000 employers will be engaged throughout the campaign, leading to 20,000+ EV chargers deployed.
Please subscribe below to stay informed and updated on actions, tools and resources as part of the EV Infrastructure Hub and Spoke Accelerator.
The EC engages with private industry across many facets of our work. To learn more about the EC’s Business Council (ECBC), a group of EV businesses and stakeholders dedicated to advancing the EV industry, please see our ECBC page. We will leverage our private sector relationships through the ECBC to boost commitments and action.
The Electric Freight Consortium (EFC) is a forum for collaboration between the EC and private-sector partners (shippers, carriers, retailers, and EV supply chain companies) that facilitates peer-to-peer collaboration on strategies and actions that will accelerate freight electrification at scale. The EFC is an exclusive space for partners while leveraging the EC’s direct experience in policy action and real-world EV deployment. In 2023, this effort will dig deeper into collaboration and action.
© 2023 ELECTRIFICATION COALITION
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Amy Malaki is the Director of Partnerships and Policy at SkyNRG and SkyNRG Americas, pioneering global leaders in sustainable aviation fuel production and supply. Prior to SkyNRG, Amy was the Associate Director for the transportation portfolio at the ClimateWorks Foundation where she developed philanthropic investment strategies to advance a sustainable, equitable and low-carbon mobility system. She also pioneered the organization’s international aviation decarbonization strategy. Prior to that she focused on Asia business development at Better Place, a Silicon Valley electric vehicle network startup. She has a B.A. in Chinese and China studies from the University of Washington and an M.A. in international policy studies (energy and environment) from Stanford University.