On January 10, 2024, the Biden administration, Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Energy (DOE), Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced $636 million in funding awards from the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program. This funding assists in the buildout of a national electric vehicle (EV) charging network along designated alternative fuel corridors while also increasing accessibility to charging in local communities.
Thus far, $1.78 billion of the $2.5 billion allocated to the CFI program through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has been awarded over three rounds of funding—Round 1, Round 1 Resubmissions (sometimes referred to as Round 1B), and now Round 2.
The latest round of funding selected 49 projects across 31 states (including four Tribal Nations) and the District of Columbia, promising a minimum of 11,500 new charging ports nationwide. The EC identified key trends and takeaways among the awarded projects and analyzed how they will impact access to charging infrastructure in communities across the country. The most notable points are as follows:
MPO: metropolitan planning organization
COG: council of governments
1. New focus areas were well represented in the selected projects.
The second CFI Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) identified several new focus areas, including charging access for residents of multi-unit dwellings and destination charging. These areas were clearly prioritized during the selection process, with most of the awarded projects addressing one or more of them.
|
Focus Areas |
Number of Selected Projects Addressing Focus Area |
Approximate Total Funding Designated to Projects Addressing Focus Area |
|
Low- and Moderate-Income Neighborhoods and Underserved Communities: station locations in or within walking distance of underserved communities |
31 |
$257 million |
|
Multi-Purpose Workplace and Destination Charging: low-cost, lower-power (Level 2) charging for extended use and/or overnight use on multi-day journeys |
30 |
$255 million |
|
Neighborhood and Multi-Family Charging: station locations in public/shared spaces within walking distance of multi-unit dwellings |
16 |
$143 million |
|
Multi-Modal Hubs and Shared-Use Fleets and Services: station locations associated with other modes of transportation, including bus and train stops, e-bike and e-scooter charging docks, and more |
6 |
$67 million |
|
Zero Emission Corridors for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles: station locations with chargers able to accommodate medium- and heavy-duty EVs for use by freight and delivery fleets |
5 |
$244 million |
2. Awards were geographically distributed.
31 states (including four Tribal Nations) received awards during this funding round, with seven of these states being selected for the first time. Now, only Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia have not had any projects awarded through the CFI program.
3. Most projects received small or large awards.
Only five of the selected community projects were awarded amounts between $5 million and $11 million. The remaining 37 were closer to the minimum and maximum bounds—$500,000 and $15 million, respectively.
4. Other alternative fuels received minimal funding.
Only two of the awarded projects focused on hydrogen, including one port project devoted completely to hydrogen. For the first time in three rounds, a compressed natural gas station was funded; however, renewable natural gas, ethanol, and biodiesel projects—all eligible fuel types—have yet to be awarded.
There is one final round of the CFI program slated for the future. This last tranche of funding is anticipated to be at least $700 million. If you are interested in learning more about the CFI program or pursuing funding for charging infrastructure projects, please visit our CFI Tools & Resources Hub or email us at infrastructure@electrificationcoalition.org.