Charging network operator Blink Charging has agreed to acquire EVSE manufacturer SemaConnect for $200 million. The deal will add an additional 13,000 chargers, 1,800 site host locations, and more than 150,000 registered members to Blink’s existing footprint. Blink says the acquisition will enable it to offer “complete vertical integration, from R&D and manufacturing to charger… Read more »
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorized $7.5 billion of investment in EV charging infrastructure, which the Biden Administration says will be used to build a national network of 500,000 public chargers. Over the last year, the government has been developing a plan (complete with the usual alphabet soup of working groups and programs) to distribute that… Read more »
The EPA has announced $500 million in new funding for school districts and other eligible bus operators to begin replacing the nation’s fleet of school buses with American-made zero-emission buses. This 500 big ones represents the first round of funding from the $5-billion investment authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Portions of the rebates can… Read more »
The US Department of Energy (DOE), in coordination with the Department of Labor and the AFL-CIO, has announced the launch of a national workforce development strategy for lithium-ion battery manufacturing. As part of a $5-million investment, DOE will support up to five pilot training programs in energy and automotive communities, and advance workforce partnerships between… Read more »
The DOT’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded $409.3 million in grants to 70 projects in 39 states to modernize and electrify America’s bus systems. One of these grants will go to the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, which serves Charged’s home city of St Petersburg, Florida. The PSTA grant is for $18,399,000, the second-largest amount… Read more »
Based on funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the DOE says it will provide $2.91 billion in the coming months to strengthen the US battery supply chain. The DOE says the funding will support new, retrofitted and expanded battery materials and cell recycling and production facilities. The funding will also contribute to research, development and… Read more »
The Biden administration has announced three major pro-EV initiatives in recent months—a revamping of the federal tax credits, an infrastructure funding package, and new EPA emissions standards. However, government programs are always complex, and they tend to undergo major revisions between the proposal and policy stages. To help us sort out how the new policies… Read more »
Green initiatives are on the chopping block in Washington these days, but two of the most important federal incentives have escaped the axe for now. After a bit of back-and-forth, the federal tax credit for plug-in car purchases survived in the final version of the Republicans’ tax cut bill. Now Congress has added a few… Read more »
The California legislature has passed a bill designed to make it easier for property renters to install EV charging stations. Assembly Bill 2565 will give tenants the right to install charging stations at their homes or businesses if the tenant is willing to pay installation costs. Under current law, lease restrictions may add financial burdens… Read more »
Since its launch in 2010, California’s Zero Emission Vehicle rebate program has provided cash incentives to thousands of EV buyers in the Golden State. In fact, it’s proven so popular that the California Air Resources Board seems to be looking for ways to make the available funding go farther. CARB is now working on its… Read more »