Maryland awarded $18.6 million to build electric vehicle chargers along I-81 and I-78
BALTIMORE - Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and West Virginia were awarded $18.6 million to build electric vehicle (EV) chargers and fueling infrastructure along the I-81 and I-78 corridors, the Biden-Harris administration announced.
The money is part of a $635 million grant to increase EV chargers and alternative fueling infrastructure. The funds will be divided among 49 projects that will create more than 11,500 electric vehicle charging ports and hydrogen and natural gas fueling stations in 27 states, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
The grant is part of President Joe Biden's effort to build 500,000 publicly available EV charges by 2030, a goal that officials say they are on track to reach earlier than expected.
"The Biden Administration has made historic investments to support the EV transition and make sure it's made in America," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "These investments will help states and communities build out a network of EV chargers in the coming years so that one day, finding a charge on a road trip will be as easy as filling up at a gas station."
As of Friday, Jan. 10, there were more than 206,000 publicly available EV charging ports with 38,000 new public chargers created in 2024, officials said.
The grant also furthers the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy by expanding hydrogen transportation infrastructure.
About $368 million of the grant will be used for 42 community projects that expand EV charging access across the country and $268 will be used for seven fast-charging projects along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors.
The Maryland DOT, Pennsylvania DOT, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and West Virginia DOT will receive $18.6 million in a project that will install six fast charging stations along the I-81 and I-78 corridors and analyze medium and heavy-duty vehicle charging and fueling deployment.
Electric vehicles in Maryland
In May 2024, Maryland officials announced the amount of registered electric vehicles in the state had passed 100,000, increasing by 59% between January 2023 and April 2024.
Data from the Maryland DOT's Motor Vehicle Administration showed that EV registrations are growing by about 2,500 per month, highlighting the increasing need for EV chargers in the state.
In December 2023, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott signed a bill requiring that all city vehicles be zero-emissions by the year 2030 in an effort to address climate change. Exceptions will be granted if the technology is not reliable or too expensive.
