If your company is weighing the pros and cons of opening an EV charging station, you’ll want to leverage every financial incentive you can. With EV charging grant programs abounding at every level, from federal to local, you’ll want to explore what grants you might be eligible for. Discover how to obtain a grant for your EV charging station with the EV Charging Summit team.
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Federal Grants for Alternative Fueling Stations
Let’s start with EV charging station grants at the federal level. The US government instituted a massive source of funding, the “Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program,” that prospective charging station owners can use to obtain money for new builds.
The first track in this grant program, the “Community Program,” provides funds to build alternative fueling stations, such as hydrogen, propane, EV charging, or natural gas stations in publicly accessible community properties, such as parks, public parking spaces, and in locations along public roads.
This program will give priority to companies and organizations in underserved regions, including the following types of neighborhoods:
- Rural communities
- Low- and moderate-income areas that have few private parking options or a high ratio of multi-family dwellings to single-family homes
The second track, the “Corridor Program,” provides funds to companies that plan alternative fueling station construction along specific highways and roads. Both programs cover building plans, materials, construction equipment, and technology infrastructure, as well as accessibility, climate, and sustainability initiatives.
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There’s a catch, though — at least for private companies. Businesses that want to get in on the funding must partner and work under the direction of tax-exempt organizations, such as local, state, or territorial governments, community planning groups, special-purpose authorities or districts, Native American tribes, or groups that eligible organizations own.
State Grants for EV Charging Stations
NEVI Funding
The actual money for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program comes from the federal government. However, the funding agency, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), allotted funds directly to the states to dole out.
Companies that want to receive NEVI funding, therefore, must apply through their state. Some states, such as Oregon, made some of the federal government’s requirements even stricter to conform to their own standards, so be sure to check if your state has any extra provisions before you apply.
To receive NEVI funding, you must show that your proposed EV charging station meets the following criteria:
- EV charging station construction sites must be within one mile of the federal government’s designated alternative fuel corridors (AFCs) — specific roads and highways that serve as major thoroughfares for interstate travel.
- Your station must be no farther than 50 miles from the closest station.
- Stations must provide four or more charging ports and enable four EVs to charge simultaneously at 150 kW.
- You must show that your company can meet at least 20% of the total costs.
- Your charging points must conform to the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) and ISO 15118 to ensure charger-to-charger network communication.
Once your state approves you for funding, you may use NEVI grant money to cover a broad range of construction and maintenance costs, including:
- Planning, mapping, and construction expenses
- Operational and maintenance costs during your first five years
- Purchasing and installing both EV charging infrastructure and signage for traffic control and instructions
Other State and Local Grants
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Some states, such as California and Washington, have EV charging grant programs of their own. Caltrans’ Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program (CFI), for instance, only provides funding to specific tax-exempt organizations. To benefit from Caltrans’ funding, EV charging infrastructure companies would have to partner with these groups and work under their authority.
Eligible groups include:
- The state of California and its political subdivisions
- Municipal planning organizations
- Local government organizations
- Special-purpose public or district authorities whose work deals with transportation
- Native American tribes
- Territories
Nearly half of the other 48 states, too, have local government, utility, or state-provided funding for EV charging infrastructure construction and operations. If your state is on the following list, it will pay to look at your options, especially if your planned station cannot meet some of the requirements for NEVI grants.
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
Applying for Your Charging Station Grant
Once you narrow down your options, it’s time to start looking into the actual application process. If you lead a tax-exempt organization that’s been around for a while, you’ll most likely have someone on staff familiar with the grant application process.
However, if you head a new not-for-profit group or a business, it pays to research the process. A great place to start is the Grants.gov website’s “How to Apply for Grants: Getting Started” page. With easy-to-follow steps, this site will walk you through the entire process, from learning about the basics to tracking your completed application.
Some grants might require you to write a grant proposal in addition to filling out an application. Venngage has an easy-to-follow guide that will help you create one.
If, however, writing isn’t your strong suit — or that of anyone on your staff — Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy has an excellent article that explains how to hire an effective grant writer.
Discover More About Applying for Grants at the EV Charging Summit
With more expert speakers, exhibits, and opportunities to network than ever before, our next EV Charging Summit is an event you won’t want to miss. You’ll have eight separate tracks geared to specific areas of the EV charging industry to choose from.
But that’s not all. We’ll also have small group gatherings we call Shop Talks, including one where you can take a deep dive into all things grant-related. No matter what, you’ll take home a wealth of information that can help your next project become an unqualified success. Reserve your spot today!
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