Electrify America has released its National Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Investment Plan for Cycle 2; Cycle 2 is a 30-month investment period that begins in July 2019.

The $300-million investment will build on Electrify America’s initial priorities and expand into new areas, where the need for electric vehicle charging stations and technology are greatest or are most likely to be used regularly.

Electrify America National Cycle 2 ZEV Investment Plan.

Highlights of the National Cycle 2 ZEV Investment Plan include:

Charging Infrastructure

• Metro Community Charging: The major focus of infrastructure investment in Cycle 2 is charging within metro areas, where research shows that EV drivers charge most often. Electrify America will invest in metro-based direct current fast charging (DCFC) stations in 18 metro areas, including these new metro areas in Cycle 2:

  • Atlanta, Baltimore, Honolulu, Las Vegas and Phoenix

  Electrify America also will continue to invest in these Cycle 1 metros:

  • Boston, Chicago, Denver, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle and Washington, DC

  In Cycle 2, Electrify America also will broaden its investment in existing metros by adding:

  • Boulder (CO) for the Denver market;
  • Bremerton (WA) and Olympia (WA) for the Seattle market; and
  • Bridgeport (CT) for the New York City market.

  These metro areas are expected to account for more than 50% of expected battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in operation outside California through 2022 (Navigant, 2017). Metro DCFC stations will be placed in retail locations and are intended to serve EV drivers in their daily fueling needs. Select DCFC stations also will be installed near multiunit dwellings (MUDs), expanding access to drivers who reside in apartment complexes and similar communities. Finally, Electrify America will invest in DCFC stations specifically designed to serve shared mobility drivers (car share, taxis, and transportation network company (TNC) drivers) to ensure that these high mileage drivers and passengers are able to enjoy the benefits of ZEV adoption conveniently and cost effectively.

• Highways and Regional Routes: Cycle 2 investments will build upon Cycle 1 efforts to develop a highway network of ultra-fast DCFC stations. This will include building new sites connecting regional destinations and filling in existing routes as station utilization of the highway network increases.

• Autonomous: To support the growth of autonomous ZEVs, Electrify America will build up to two commercial deployments of charging stations for autonomous electric vehicles where this need is emerging.

• Renewable Generation: Electrify America will invest in renewable generation for select stations to help to reduce station operating costs and reduce the carbon content for EV refueling.

Education and Awareness Programs

Electrify America will continue to invest in educational efforts to increase consumers’ awareness of EVs. In Cycle 2, Electrify America will engage in a brand-neutral campaign to drive ZEV adoption and a branded media campaign intended to drive station utilization.

Efforts will primarily focus on boosting awareness and consideration by informing the general public of the benefits of ZEVs through traditional media advertising, similar to Electrify America’s Cycle 1 “JetStones” TV/radio campaign, and could broaden to include encouraging customers to research ZEVs and test drive the vehicles.

The National ZEV Investment Plan benefited from collaboration with public and private sector stakeholders throughout the ZEV ecosystem and a comprehensive national outreach period, during which Electrify America received nearly 800 submissions and conducted follow up with many of the submitters.

Electrify America was established to implement the ZEV Investment Commitment, a part of Volkswagen’s Court-approved settlement involving 2.0-liter diesel vehicles in the United States. The ZEV Investment Commitment includes four 30-month investment cycles that will direct $1.2 billion in electric vehicle infrastructure and education programs in states except California for a ten year period, and investment in each cycle is laid out in a National ZEV Investment Plan. In addition, under separate plans, Electrify America will invest $800 million in California, one of the largest ZEV markets in the world.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently acknowledged that the Cycle 2 National ZEV Investment Plan is consistent with the requirements of the settlement and is now final.

Nationally, inside and outside California, the total number of metro areas invested in for Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 by Electrify America is 29 (Please note: some cities received investments in both cycles). The metro cities are: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Boulder (CO), Bremerton (WA), Bridgeport (CT), Chicago, Denver, Fresno, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Olympia (WA), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Raleigh, Riverside-San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Santa Rosa, Seattle, and Washington D.C. (29)