US funds charging and electric micromobility projects

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office) have earmarked more than 43 million dollars to fund 25 EV charging projects across 23 states. The focus is on charging and micromobility to expand electric mobility options for Americans.

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Image: Bike Share Pittsburgh Inc

The funding comes from the Communities Taking Charge Accelerator programme. It focuses on three main areas:

  • Solving for No-Home Charging: Expanding Charging Access for Privately Owned E-Mobility
  • Expanding E-Mobility Solutions through Electrified Micro, Light and Medium-Duty Fleets
  • Managed Charging for Clean Reliable Energy

Falling under the first topic, the San Francisco Environment Department is looking into setting up ten to 15 charging hubs with two to five chargers each. Other projects focus on installing chargers at multifamily housing complexes, like in Alabama, where the local utility company will be able to install chargers, levering existing metering and billing processes.

Many of the projects do not focus on charging (privately owned) electric cars, but on electric micromobility. For instance, one project seeks to introduce shared electric cargo bikes in Pittsburg and “identify pricing, allocation, and charging strategies that will accelerate ridership to families transporting goods.” The city of Boston is looking at electrifying bike-share stations to eliminate battery swapping.

In Seattle, the University of Washington wants to understand “how the electrification of shared parking lots and the establishment of neighbourhood logistics microhubs can support sustainable and equitable last-mile delivery” – an undertaking that received 2.5 million dollars in funding and also falls under the second topic of the Communities Taking Charge Accelerator programme.

Moving on to the third topic: The University of Alabama wants to enable end-to-end coordinated charging to improve grid reliability and delay infrastructure updates “through communication and information exchange between power grid, charging network operators, smart chargers, [and] electric vehicle (EV) users.” Another smart charging project to receive funding is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

These are just example projects. A complete list of all 25 funding recipients can be found here.

“Building on the success of convenient public fast charging along highways, we need to address the real challenges that come with curb space and energy constraints, and a multifamily housing supply that encourages lower rates of car ownership and usage of other modes like shared mobility,” said Gabe Klein, Executive Director of the Joint Office. “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.”

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