The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation’s Communities Taking Charge Accelerator has awarded $43.7 million to 25 innovative EV charging projects across the US.
The Communities Taking Charge Accelerator was launched on April 16, 2024, and the funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The three main goals of the funding are to expand access to electrified mobility options for folks who don’t have access to home charging, accelerate opportunities for fleet electrification, and improve and advance managed charging systems to mitigate impacts and optimize usage of the grid.
On January 15, 25 project awardees were announced that impact 23 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Challenges that the projects will address include:
Solving for no-home charging. Not everyone has a driveway or garage to charge their EVs, e-bikes, or scooters. Projects are testing creative solutions like curbside chargers, multifamily charging setups, and shared community micromobility hubs. They also look at everything from rate design to building multimodal charging hubs, making it easier for people in apartments or urban areas to power up.
In this project, for example, Voltpost will install lamppost EV chargers in San Francisco using existing infrastructure.
Electrifying fleets for people and goods. Think of shared rides, carpool services, and last-mile delivery trucks. Electrifying these types of light- and medium-duty fleets could have a huge impact on reducing emissions. These projects aim to figure out how to charge fleets more efficiently, whether they’re transporting people or goods. It’s all about improving community access to clean transportation options while keeping operations smooth for fleet operators.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s project allows Metro Bike Share to increase access to electric bikes by implementing electrified stations with in-dock charging.
Managed charging for clean reliable energy. Managed charging is about coordinating when and how EVs charge to avoid grid strain and use renewable energy whenever possible. Projects in this area are working on open-source tools and standards to make managed charging tech accessible and easy to integrate into today’s energy systems.
The University of Alabama is running a project to develop and implement an end-to-end multi-stakeholder EV charging management framework to enhance grid reliability.
Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office, said, “This investment aims to expand transportation and energy infrastructure to meet the current and anticipated demands – from how people charge and use shared vehicle fleets including e-bikes around transit hubs to a new model for more affordable multifamily housing charging – advancing a more holistic energy and transportation ecosystem.”
Electrek’s Take
The Biden administration has been rapidly doling out funds to clean energy and EV projects, and it’s great to see the Communities Taking Charge Accelerator funds reach its recipients at the 11th hour. There are some great projects, which you can check out here.
Read more: Rivian powers Michigan’s first federally funded NEVI EV fast charger
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