Zero-emission Vehicle Infrastructure Partnerships grant

Notice of grant opportunity

We recently announced the availability of approximately $8 million in ZEVIP grant funding on March 14, 2022. The funding is for installation of new and upgraded electric-vehicle charging equipment and hydrogen-fueling infrastructure along priority corridors in Washington. More information, including how to apply, is in the ZEVIP Notice Of Grant Opportunity and Grant Application Guide (PDF 322 KB).

Questions and answers

We've collected questions, answers, clarifications, and corrections for the ZEVIP grant application in the ZEVIP Grant Guidelines (PDF 158KB).

Webinar:

We hosted a webinar about the ZEVIP grant opportunity on March 25, 2022. You can register to view a recording of the webinar. (The recording ends at approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes due to technical difficulties). Materials for the webinar are below.

• Webinar presentation slides (PDF 1.8MB)
• Registered attendees list (PDF 416KB)

ZEVIP schedule of activities

Notice of grant opportunity:                        Thursday, March 17

Prospective applicant webinar:                   9–11 a.m. Friday, March 25

Questions due to grant coordinator:        5 p.m. Wednesday, March 30

Questions and answers published:            Friday, April 8

Applications due:                                                  5 p.m. Wednesday, May 18

Notice of proposed awards:                           Tuesday, May 31

Grant agreements finalized:                           Thursday, June 30

Project completion date                                   June 30, 2023

Eligible applicants

Nonprofit organizations, tribes, and state and local government agencies such as cities, towns, counties, and districts are eligible to apply. Potential grant recipients must partner with private-sector organizations to develop and implement their projects.

Eligible projects

Funding may be used for site design, equipment purchases, electrical upgrades, installation, signage, operations, and maintenance. Eligible projects are limited to:

New installations of EV charging infrastructure

For example, new direct-current, fast-charging stations with at least four combined charging system (CCS) ports, supporting at least 150 kW per port simultaneous charging.

Upgrades to existing EV charging infrastructure

For example, adding new direct-current, fast-charging stations with at least one CCS port, supporting at least 150kW per port charging, to a location that currently has only CHAdeMO plug(s). At least one CHAdeMO plug must remain where it is currently available.

New installations of hydrogen refueling infrastructure

For example, installation of a station capable of dispensing hydrogen at the mandatory H70-T40 (700 bar) designed, constructed and operated in accordance with the latest standards for hydrogen refueling. Those standards could include the National Fire Protection Association NFPA 2 Hydrogen Technologies Code and SAE J2601 fueling protocols for light-duty, gaseous hydrogen vehicles.

Priority corridors

Priority corridors for EV charging infrastructure and hydrogen fueling stations include interstates, U.S. highways, and state routes. For EV charging, stations should be located at least every 50 miles and within 1 travel mile of the priority corridor. For hydrogen fueling, stations should be located at least every 150 miles and within 5 travel miles of the highway corridor.

ZEVIP GovDelivery distribution list

To stay informed on ZEV infrastructure grant programs, you can register for updates by selecting the Funding and Zero-Emission Vehicle Grants subscription topics.

Investments for alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure along Washington’s roadways

WSDOT is taking a careful and thoughtful approach to building a program that will maximize the state's investment. We are exploring several opportunities to leverage state funds to bolster the Zero Emission Vehicle infrastructure partnerships (ZEVIP) program:

• Obtaining national designation of I-5, I-82, I-90 and US 101 as electric vehicle charging corridors through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Alternative Fuel Corridor Designation Program.
• Submitting Pacific Northwest Zero Emission Vehicle investment proposals for cycles 1, 2 and 3 for Volkswagen's $2 billion Electrify America Investment Program. Electrify America is building electric-vehicle-charging infrastructure in the greater Seattle area and along I-5 and I-90 in Washington and plans to expand the system to the Olympic Peninsula.
• Coordinating with Ecology on approximately $16 million available over 10 years for light-duty electric-vehicle-charging infrastructure in Washington through the federal Volkswagen settlement.
• Completing a research project with the University of Washington on a modeling tool to support investment decisions on highway corridor charging.

Why we invest in ZEV infrastructure

Washington state reached its Results Washington goal to have 50,000 plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) on state roads by 2020, and zero-emission vehicle adoption continues to grow. The Department of Licensing publishes electric vehicle registration numbers monthly on the state's open data portal. The sales tax incentives on the purchase of new and used zero-emission vehicles will likely drive sales and use of these vehicles. The state needs more charging infrastructure to support the current EV drivers and the anticipated growth in alternative fuel vehicle adoption.

The Joint Legislative Transportation Committee conducted a study on business models for electric-vehicle supply equipment. The committee found that until there are more electric vehicles on our roads, the state needs to provide incentives to encourage investment in charging infrastructure.

How Washington benefits from zero-emission vehicles

Vehicles that run on electricity drawn from the state's clean-energy mix of hydro, wind and solar energy are far cleaner than petroleum-dependent cars. In Washington, the transportation sector accounts for nearly half of the state's greenhouse-gas emissions. Encouraging a shift from petroleum-based fuels to fuels with low or no carbon emissions contributes to a set of strategies needed to reduce the transportation sector's impact on the environment.

How citizens benefit from electric vehicles

Drivers of zero-emission vehicles benefit by:

• Having more vehicle choices.
• Saving money on gas and vehicle maintenance.
• Reducing dependence on foreign oil.
• Helping meet greenhouse-gas reduction goals.
• Contributing to the creation of green-technology jobs.

Completed grant projects

Through a competitive process, WSDOT awarded $1 million in grants for the 2017-2019 program to leverage about $1.5 million in matching funds for a total investment of about $2.5 million. The funds helped to install 15 new electric-vehicle-charging stations near highway exits about 40 miles apart along I-5, I-90, and I-82/US-395/I-182.

Eastern Washington project

Project lead: Energy Northwest on behalf of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Transportation Alliance in collaboration with Greenlots and EV4.
$405,000 state grant award. 
$1,071,000 total project cost.

This project provides a network of DC fast chargers in nine communities along I-82, I-182, US 395, and I-90. The network bridged a charging gap between Tri-Cities and I-90 to both the west and north-east of Tri-Cities. New stations can now be found in Cle Elum, Connell, Ellensburg, Kennewick, Moses Lake, Pasco, Prosser, Richland, and Yakima.

I-5 Corridor Project

Project lead: Forth in collaboration with EVgo.
$595,000 state grant award.
$1,461,689 total project cost.

This project provided new electric-vehicle fast-charging infrastructure along I-5 by providing dual charging stations to fill gaps and provide redundancy. New stations can now be found in Bellingham, Chehalis, DuPont, Lynnwood, SeaTac, and Tacoma.