About This Resource
Expert policy analysts at the Electrification Coalition created this comprehensive outline to help those seeking CFI Corridor funding put together successful applications.
The elements included in this outline are based on the official guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and on applications that received funding during the first round of awards. Elements marked as “optional” are not officially required for an application to be considered complete, but were consistently observed in the applications for projects that were ultimately selected to receive funding.
Please note that this outline is comprehensive as of June 2024.
For more information about CFI, visit the EC’s CFI Tools & Resources Hub.
If you have any specific questions or are in need of additional support, our organization can provide individualized guidance, tailored resources, and guided community engagement activities. Contact us at infrastructure@electrificationcoalition.org.
Mandatory Forms
- Standard Form 424
- Standard Form 424C
- Standard Form 424D
- Standard Form LLL
- Project Abstract Summary
- Attachments (use this form to submit all Application Support files, outlines for which are provided below)
All of these forms can be found linked in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the second round of CFI funding. All forms should be compiled in an individual section separate from the budget section in the Application Support files.
Application Support Outline
Details of the proposed project should be provided in the Application Support files, as outlined below. Note that all Application Support documents should be submitted together, and should not exceed 25 pages combined.
Executive Summary (Optional)
While not required, many successful applicants included an executive summary highlighting the key points of their project in a concise way.
Project Narrative
A description of the project that introduces the geographic area, the current state of infrastructure, and how funding would be allocated to supplement the NEVI stations along Alternative Fuel Corridors in the area . In this section, there are specific touch points from FHWA that must be introduced .
- Description of project location
- Detailed geographical description of the proposed project
- Map of the project’s location and connections to existing transportation infrastructure
- Geospatial data of project location
- ESRI Shapefiles, latitude/longitude coordinate intersections, specific addresses
- Number of EV charging ports/alternative fueling dispensers expected at each site
- Traffic and pedestrian safety considerations
- Must mitigate safety risks introduced by the project
- Pedestrian safety
- Must not negatively impact the overall safety of the traveling public
- Must discuss National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) and how project will support goal of achieving zero roadway deaths through Safe System Approach
- Must discuss Americans with Disability Act
- Additionally discuss Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) (optional)
- Must mitigate safety risks introduced by the project
- Description of how public accessibility of infrastructure has been considered
- Connector types and number of ports expected at each location
- Publicly accessible information on real-time charger availability
- Payment methods that are secure, equal, and fair
- Description of collaborative stakeholder engagement
- Must foster enhanced, coordinated public-private or private investments
- Must expand deployment
- Must protect personal privacy and ensure cybersecurity
- Must ensure that a properly trained workforce is employed to construct/install the chargers
- Location features
- Amenities (wifi, weather protection, etc.)
- Compliance with ADA
- Height and fueling capacity requirements for all vehicles, including medium- and heavy-duty EVs
- Not redundant with other stations, fills in charging gaps
- Technology advancements
- Responsive advancement of various technologies, e.g. vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology
- Long-term operation and maintenance of EV charging station
- Must mitigate worry of stranded assets
- Must protect public funds
- Must have sufficient fuel supply available
- Emissions estimate
- AFLEET CFI tool
- Alternative Fuel Corridor (AFC) expansion
- Must be in the process of converting from corridor-pending to corridor-ready
- Must meet current and/or anticipated demand for alternative fueling infrastructure
- Must support adoption of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles
- Additional Project Narrative Focus Areas (Must address one, but more than one area can be identified and is encouraged. Within these project narrative focus areas, applicants must specify how the proposed project is not duplicative of NEVI or previous CFI awards.)
- Demonstrate Buildout of AFC
- Zero-Emission Corridors for MHD
- Long dwell time locations along AFCs
- Additional Project Narrative touchpoints
- Use innovative payment approaches to ensure accessibility to diverse populations, including unbanked and underbanked communities
- Provide directly verifiable data and documentation
Budget Information
More information on the amount of funding requested, the distribution of funding, and special forms are included here.
- Description of how funds will be spent on the project: estimated amount of funds (in dollars and percentages of total budget) that will be spent in each of the areas listed below, and which entity is responsible for each cost
- Project Planning and Development
- ROW/Acquisition costs
- Installation/Operation/Maintenance costs
- Include any operating subsidies that will be obtained
- Educational Activity Costs
- Describe cost share and how required cost share amounts will be met
- Present project budget data in dollars and percentages of total budget
- Identify intent to use other funds
- CFI Program
- Other federal funds
- Non-federal funds
- Identify any named or planned subrecipients or contractors
- Describe compliance or intention to comply with 2 CFR 200
- Provide table (as applicable)
- Federal funding requested for pre-NEPA approval activities (or for activities that do not require approval)
- Federal funding requested for activities that need post-NEPA approval
Project Merit Criteria
Specific focus areas from the NOFO regarding safety, equity, resilience, workforce development and more must be elaborated on in this section.
- Safety (for highly qualified rating)
- Must result in positive safety benefits for all users
- Must not result in negative safety impacts for any users
- Must promote safety through design
- Climate Change, Resilience, and Sustainability (for highly qualified rating)
- Must significantly reduce GHG emissions in the transportation sector
- Demonstrate emissions reduction through tools such as AFLEET
- Must incorporate evidence-based climate resilience measures
- Address Federal Flood Risk Mitigation Standard
- Must address climate change/resilience/environmental justice in project planning and delivery
- Must significantly reduce GHG emissions in the transportation sector
- Must take measures to avoid adverse environmental impacts
- Address disproportionate negative impacts of climate change in disadvantaged communities
- Natural disaster prevention, response, and recovery
- Address disproportionate negative impacts of climate change in disadvantaged communities
- Must take measures to avoid adverse environmental impacts
- Equity, Community Engagement, and EJ40 (for highly qualified rating)
- Must include an equity analysis to demonstrate that 40% or more of funds will benefit disadvantaged communities using the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST)
- Must include meaningful public engagement throughout the project’s lifecycle
- Must increase affordable transportation options, improve safety, connect Americans to well-paying jobs, fight climate change, or improve access to resources and quality of life
- Must address quality of life/safety/climate change/economic development
- Must enable all people within multimodal transportation networks to reach their desired destinations safely, affordably, and with efficiency and ease
- Must address rural and tribal communities with ROUTES
- If not, indicate that this is not relevant to your application
- Must incorporate economic development/revitalization/improvement
- Workforce Development, Job Quality, and Wealth Creation (for highly qualified rating)
- Must create well-paying jobs, allow for free and fair choice to join a union, and expand strong labor standards
- Must promote high-quality workforce development programs with a focus on women, people of color, and other underrepresented populations
- Must utilize hiring policies that promote and retain underrepresented populations
- Must promote the development of disadvantaged business enterprises, minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, or 8(a) firms
- CFI Program Vision (for highly qualified rating)
- Must equitably expand deployment of DCFC in publicly accessible locations along FHWA-designated AFCs
- Must address additional project narrative focus areas
- Demostrate build-out of AFCs
- Zero-emission corridors for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles
- Long dwell time locations along AFCs
Additional Considerations must be incorporated into your application. They are reviewed as the second-most important (behind merit criteria) in application evaluation
- Converting corridor-pending to corridor-ready
- Providing redundancy to meet excess demand or reduce congestion in high-traffic areas through ID of existing and planned locations
- Supporting a long-term competitive market and does not significantly impair existing charging and infrastructure providers through an analysis of estimated demand at locations that was coordinated to avoid overlap
- Accelerate construction of charging that would be unlikely completed without federal funding
- Done by meaningful engagement with communities
- Deployed infrastructure for MHD in proximity to National Highway Freight Network and/or intermodal stations
- Coastal or inland port facility
- Designed to scale and accommodate MHD
- Demonstrate extent to which the project supports the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy and the FHWA Freight Electric Vehicle Corridor Designations
- Ensure geographic diversity to ensure availability throughout the US
- Private entity that is contracted
- Submits most recent year of audited financial statements
- Experienced in installing and operating infrastructure as evidenced in the narrative
- Resumes for key members
- Provides a remedy and an opportunity to cure if requirements are not met
- Demonstrate that the project is reasonably expected to begin in a timely manner, and will meet all project deadlines
Note: the DOT will prioritize Highly Recommended Projects that demonstrate exceptional benefits to Merit Criteria #3, #4, and #5 (third in evaluation criteria)
Project Readiness and Environmental Risk
This section serves as an evaluation and demonstration of whether the project is reasonably expected to begin in a timely manner. The FHWA emphasizes the importance of projects that can be implemented quickly.
- Detailed statement of work, focused on technical/engineering aspects of the project
- Discussion of energy source and storage needs (if applicable)
- Description of engagement with utility providers
- Discussion of whether or not utility upgrades will be needed
- Discussion of whether or not utility designs have been started, submitted, or finalized
- Assessment of property and ROW acquisition necessary for the project
- Inclusion of project in relevant state, metropolitan, and/or local planning document
- e.g. a metro transportation plan, transportation improvement program, statewide transportation improvement program, etc.
- Project approvals already obtained, including site assessment/permit details
- Discussion of project risks and how they will be addressed
- Evidence of coordination or public engagement that has been completed or is ongoing
- Discussion of intention for disadvantaged business enterprises’ participation or engagement
- Discussion of equity and accessibility requirements
- Intended project timeline, including defined milestones (i.e. a Gantt Chart)
- Discussion of Title 23 CFR Part 680 requirements
- Further demonstration of project readiness as needed
- Discussion of the environmental impacts of the project
- NEPA reviews or permits needed or completed
Appendix (Optional)
An optional section to include letters of support, additional figures, and other items that you feel will strengthen your application.
- Letters of support
- Supplemental figures, graphs, and data to support your application