$100M in State Funding to Provide EV Charging and Hydrogen Fueling Sites in California – Fuel Smarts

The Energy Infrastructure Incentives for Zero-Emission (EnergIIZE) Commercial Vehicles Project will distribute more than $100 million in zero-emission vehicle charging infrastructure incentives to qualified applicants across California.

The funds will be used for the purchase and installation of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure to support the deployment of zero-emission vehicles and the installation of more than 1,500 chargers and nearly 60 hydrogen dispensers.  

Funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC) and administered by Calstart, EnergIIZE is a statewide effort to increase market demand for zero-emission trucks and buses.

EnergIIZE said it is the nation’s first incentives program for commercial vehicle fleet infrastructure. The program offers four standard funding opportunities, which are:

• EV Fast Track (accepting applications beginning on Feb. 7)
• Hydrogen (opening in mid-April 2024),
• EV Jump Start
• EV Public Charging Station

Additional Funding

EnergIIZE also offers three set-aside funding lanes that complement the California Air Resources Board’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) awardees for bus and drayage fleet vehicles. Those are:

• Public School Bus Set-Aside
• Transit Set-Aside
• Drayage Set-Aside

Initial ZEV Needs Funding

In April 2021, the CEC awarded an initial $50 million in Clean Transportation Program funding to Calstart to address ZEV needs in California. Since then, nearly 200 projects across the state have been awarded, and today, 18 project sites are complete and operational with charging infrastructure using EnergIIZE funding.

Low-Income Communities

Additionally, 60% of EnergIIZE applications are in disadvantaged and, or, low-income communities; of awarded projects, 89% met equity criteria and 86% were in disadvantaged or low-income communities.