Federal EV Infrastructure Programs

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program was established under the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act of 2021 and will give California $384 million over the course of five years. NEVI is an initiative to create a coast-to-coast network of EV chargers focused on major highways that support the majority of long-distance trips. 

Through this program at least four 150kW DC fast chargers will be installed at least every 50 miles over 6,600 miles of interstates, US routes, and state routes.

• (Closed) GFO-24-606 - California's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program -Solicitation 2
• (Closed) GFO-23-601 - California’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program
• NEVI Corridor Group Interactive Map (March 2024)
• NEVI Corridor Group Ranking Spreadsheet
• National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Standards and Requirements
• California's Deployment Plan for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program

The Electric Vehicle and Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator (EVC RAA), Program is an initiative to fix or replace non-functional EV charging stations, and bring older stations into compliance with NEVI minimum standards. The $5 billion NEVI Formula Program contains a 10 percent set-aside for states and localities that require additional assistance to strategically deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The EVC RAA Program was developed through this set-aside. By addressing reliability and accessibility challenges, the EVC RAA Program aims to spur wider adoption of EVs.

The goal of the program is to repair or replace at least 1302 of the 3516 eligible, publicly available broken or non-operational L2 and DC fast charging ports across the state. Caltrans applied for the program and was awarded $63.7 million dollars on January 18, 2024. The CEC will work with Caltrans to oversee awarded projects.

• (Closed) GFO-24-603 - California’s Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator (EVC RAA) Program
• FHWA’s Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act also authorized $2.5 billion in competitive grants nationwide to complement the NEVI formula program, known as the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program. On March 14, 2023, the Federal Highway Administration opened applications for the first round of funding, totaling up to $700 million for EV infrastructure meeting NEVI minimum standards. The program supports urban and rural areas and designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs). It offers two grant categories:

• Community Charging and Alternative Fueling Grants (Community Program)   
• Charging and Alternative Fuel Corridor Grants (Corridor Program)

In May 2023, Caltrans, in partnership with the CEC, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), applied for CFI Corridor Program grant funding to install medium- and heavy-duty (MDHD) charging and hydrogen stations along the I-5 corridor in all three states and key freight routes in California. While not initially selected (Round 1), this tristate application was subsequently awarded $102.3 million in one-time funding (Round 1B) in August 2024.  In January 2025, the CEC was also awarded a $55.9 million grant from CFI Round 2 to install 21 public EV charging stations and at least 130 high-powered EV charger ports, as well as one hydrogen refueling station, to support zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty semi-trailer trucks across heavily trafficked routes supporting zero-emission freight transportation. 

• FHWA's Charging and Fueling  (CFI) Program