FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/15/2021
Washington, D.C. – The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) is pleased to join President Biden, congressional leaders, administration officials, and coalition partners to celebrate the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which is widely referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. The IIJA makes historic investments in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, which will spur economic development and generate cost-savings for consumers, along with cutting carbon emissions and improving public health.
“The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the single largest investment to date in electrifying the United States’ transportation system,” said Joe Britton, the Executive Director of ZETA, who is attending today’s signing ceremony. “EVs are among our most powerful tools for reducing pollution while creating new, good-paying American jobs as we rebuild our country’s infrastructure. With these investments, EV vehicle manufacturing and charging infrastructure deployment will inject billions of new dollars into local economies across the country. By signing the IIJA today, President Biden is taking an unprecedented step to accelerate the adoption of EVs, which will ensure that these economic, environmental, and public health benefits are delivered to all Americans.”
ZETA compiled a list of the IIJA’s major provisions to accelerate the electrification of the transportation sector. Those bipartisan provisions include:
Low-Carbon and Zero-Emission School Buses: $5 billion is allocated to help state and local governments, eligible contractors, and nonprofit school transportation associations adopt low-carbon and zero-emission school buses.
Electric Vehicle Charging: $7.5 billion is appropriated to build out a national network of electric vehicle charging stations to facilitate long-distance travel and provide convenient charging where people live, work, and shop. Eligible grant applicants include state and local governments, transit authorities, or tribes. This funding includes the National Electric Vehicle Formula Program, which is established to provide States with $5 billion to strategically deploy EV charging infrastructure over 5 years.
Surface Transportation Block Grant Program: This grant program may now be used to fund EV charging infrastructure and vehicle-to-grid infrastructure. This includes the planning and construction of projects that facilitate intermodal connections between emerging transportation technologies.
Critical Minerals Supply Chains and Reliability: This provision streamlines the permitting process on federal land for critical minerals essential to domestic EV production. Specifically, it directs the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Forest Service to more efficiently complete federal permitting by creating and adhering to productive timelines and establishing permitting performance goals.
Battery Processing and Manufacturing: This grant program provides funding to expand the processing and manufacturing of advanced batteries in the U.S. through research ($60 million), demonstration ($50 million), commercial-scale processing ($100 million), and retrofitting projects ($50 million).
Advanced Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program: This $750 million grant program helps small- and medium-sized manufacturers build or retrofit manufacturing and industrial facilities to produce or recycle advanced energy products in former carbon communities.
Measures to Promote Greater Electrification of the Transportation Sector: The section directs states, through utility regulators, to consider measures to promote greater electrification of the transportation sector, including the establishment of rates that promote affordable and equitable charging options.
Expands the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program (ATVM): The section expands the ATVM Program within DOE’s Loan Program Office to include medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and off-road vehicles, including maritime technology.
Recycling R&D Appropriations: Appropriates $200 million (FY 2022–2026) to expand the Department of Energy’s work in research, development, and demonstration of electric vehicle battery recycling and second-life applications for vehicle batteries.
About ZETA
The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) is a federal coalition focused on advocating for 100% EV sales by 2030. ZETA is committed to enacting policies that drive EV adoption, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, secure American global EV manufacturing dominance, drastically improve public health, and significantly reduce carbon pollution.
