On August 27, the Biden-Harris administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (JOET) announced $521 million in awards for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant. These awards result from applicant resubmissions from round 1 of the CFI grant program. In total, 51 projects were awarded across 30 states, including 41 community projects and 10 corridor projects.
Round 1 applications totaled $623 million across 47 projects, while this round of funding totaled $521 million across 51 projects. While less funding was awarded for a greater number of projects, 17 large projects (that received $13–15 million each) were funded, compared to 13 large projects in the last round.
While rural access remained a focus, with 12 projects citing rural charging locations, it is worth noting that the seven largest cities per capita were all awarded in this round of funding—New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix (Maricopa County), Philadelphia, and San Antonio (Brooks Development Authority).
Additional takeaways from these awards include:
- Access for Disadvantaged Communities: $236,991,615 across 29 projects, compared to $267,153,765 across 30 projects in the last round of funding, emphasized station location in or walking distance from disadvantaged communities. While the amount was slightly lower than in the first round, because there was less funding overall, a larger percentage of the awards went to disadvantaged communities.
- Medium- and Heavy-Duty Considerations: $106,569,091 across two projects, compared to $240,699,043 across four projects in the last round of funding, focused on medium- and heavy-duty EV charging.
- Multi-Modal Focus: $41,207,248 across five projects, compared to $104,710,300 across eight projects in the last round of funding, plan to connect their chargers to other modes of transportation, such as bus and train stops, e-bike and e-scooter charging docks, and more.
- Multi-Unit Dwelling Access: $64,449,067 across nine projects, compared to $44,710,000 across four projects in the last round of funding, focused on charging within walking distance from multi-unit dwellings, with one applicant solely dedicated to access for multi-unit dwellings.
These investments also help to implement the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy by advancing charging for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles.
Cities were a major winner in this round of funding. Of the 42 award winners, cities were the prime applicant on 22 of them.
Hydrogen was not nearly as much of an emphasis in this round of funding. Last year four total projects incorporated hydrogen, but this round of funding only states that one project, an application with both EV and hydrogen fuel types, will be awarded. At least 18% of the total funding from last year’s award went to hydrogen.
Once again, alternative fuels did not make the cut. Propane, CNG, RNG, ethanol, and biodiesel—all eligible fuel types—did not receive any funding.
Applications for round two of CFI funding are due on September 11. Please visit the CFI Tools & Resources Hub for a variety of resources to assist with your application.