$635 million grant funding powers surge in EV charging station construction

The EV-powered commute or road trip is about to get easier, as the United States is building thousands of new electric vehicle charging ports. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently unveiled $635 million in new grants that will add more than 11,500 EV charging ports across 27 states. The funding also includes support for hydrogen and natural gas fueling infrastructure projects.

The grants come from two signature zero-emission infrastructure programs within the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. The largest portion, $368 million, will fund 42 projects expanding charging access within cities and towns, while $268 million will support seven corridor projects building fast-charging stations along major highways.

The investment comes as the federal government pushes toward its goal of building half a million public EV chargers by 2030. The country has already reached about 206,000 publicly available charging ports, with 38,000 new chargers installed in 2024 alone through a combination of federal funding, tax incentives and private sector investments, according to the DOT.

“These investments will help fill critical gaps in the nation’s growing charging network, particularly in disadvantaged and rural communities that have historically lacked access to charging infrastructure,” said Acting Federal Highway Deputy Administrator Gloria Shepherd.

In California, the state’s Energy Commission secured nearly $55.9 million to install 21 public EV charging stations and one hydrogen refueling station specifically designed for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The project will deploy at least 130 high-powered charger ports across heavily trafficked routes in California and crossing the border into Nevada.

In Minnesota, the Metropolitan Council received $15 million to deploy 1,875 EV charging ports across the region, with a focus on serving renters, rural areas and environmental justice communities. The project includes significant community engagement, allowing public input on funding decisions and charger locations.

The State University of New York (SUNY) secured $15 million to install 700 EV charging ports across its 64 campuses, including remote locations. The project will pair some chargers with solar canopies and battery storage, supporting both campus sustainability goals and providing charging access to surrounding communities.

A multi-state initiative led by the Maryland Department of Transportation won $18.6 million to deploy charging and fueling infrastructure along the I-81 and I-78 corridors across Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and West Virginia. The project will analyze medium and heavy-duty vehicle charging needs while building out a regional network of freight truck charging infrastructure.

The Cherokee Nation in northeast Oklahoma received $10.7 million to install 112 charging ports across 12 community locations, ensuring nearly the entire reservation is within 25 miles of charging infrastructure. In Texas, the Port Authority of Houston secured $24.8 million to construct a hydrogen fueling station for heavy-duty trucks carrying freight cargo in Bayport, Texas.

The program proved highly competitive, with the Federal Highway Administration receiving 416 applications requesting more than $4.05 billion in funding – over six times the amount available. This round of grants expands the total number of states with awarded projects to 44, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Photo courtesy Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons