Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), in partnership with the Colorado Energy Office (CEO), and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is currently leading an application to the Federal Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Grant Program. This CFI application is intended to accelerate the development of a network of publicly accessible, high-powered medium- and heavy-duty (M/HD) vehicle charging hubs along major freight corridors throughout the Denver Metro / North Front Range (DM/NFR) Ozone Nonattainment Area. These hubs will serve as the foundation for a statewide zero-emission freight corridor charging network - ensuring a more equitable transition to a zero-emission transportation system, supporting environmental justice, and improving air quality.

Widespread adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) is a key strategy in Colorado’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Pollution Reduction Roadmap to mitigate emissions from the transportation sector, which is the largest source of GHG pollution in the state. M/HD trucks and buses - primarily powered by diesel internal combustion engines - operate longer, travel farther, and contribute a disproportionate amount of transportation emissions and other harmful air pollutants. This pollution particularly impacts marginalized and lower-income communities living near major roadways and freight facilities. Federal CFI funding, if awarded, will help to facilitate the successful implementation of the Colorado Clean Truck Strategy, support the State’s ambitious objective of 35,000 zero-emission M/HD vehicles on the road by 2030, and make meaningful progress towards Colorado’s goal of net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

CFI Program Background

• The CFI Program, offered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), supplements funds from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program.
• CFI offers competitive grants to provide crucial support for the buildout of the Nation’s electrified and alternative fuel corridors, filling critical gaps and helping to meet current and anticipated demand for public corridor charging and alternative fueling infrastructure.

Colorado Application Overview

The State’s CFI application is seeking to build on Colorado's leadership in ZEV policy, programs, and incentives to establish a pioneering model for M/HD vehicle electrification in the Mountain West. The proposal aligns regional clean trucking objectives with Phase 1 of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation’s National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy, Colorado’s NEVI Plan, its recent adoption of the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, and recommendations from the Colorado M/HD Charging Infrastructure Study.

The State of Colorado is seeking approximately $50 million to:

• Develop up to 6 M/HD vehicle charging hubs with over 40 MW of total charging capacity.
• Deploy more than 100 350 kW or higher-power public chargers designed for M/HD ZEVs.
• Support equitable access to fast-charging for over 1,000 zero-emission trucks and buses traveling at least 5 Alternative Fuel Corridors in the DM/NFR: I-25, I-70, I-76, I-225, I-270.
• Advance statewide climate mitigation, environmental justice, and economic development efforts with prioritized investments in disproportionately impacted communities.

To streamline integration of Federal CFI dollars, if awarded, the State intends to leverage the existing Fleet-ZERO grant program to accelerate project deployment through a new competitive application lane specifically designed to fund corridor charging for M/HD ZEVs. Launched in 2023, Fleet-ZERO is currently the only ongoing, statewide fleet charging infrastructure incentive program in the country outside of California. The program has an annual budget of about $7 million with much of this funding currently dedicated to support private depot charging, so additional resources are critical to enable Colorado to deploy the large, high-power, public corridor charging sites required to serve M/HD vehicles traveling along major highways.

A Federal CFI award would allow Colorado - in coordination with fleets, utilities, public, private, and community stakeholders - to seed the foundation of an accessible, reliable, equitable, and safe public M/HD vehicle charging ecosystem. These hubs would represent a key node of the future National Zero-Emission Freight Network while supporting near-term charging needs for local and regional fleets, and serving as a helpful blueprint for other states across the country.

Colorado CFI Application - Proposed Project Area

National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy- Phase 1 Corridors in Colorado