The Federal Highway Administration, along with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, recently issued a Request for Information or RFI regarding electric vehicle (EV) charging technologies and infrastructure needs for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
[Above image by FHWA]
That RFI seeks input in four areas to support medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles: 1) unique EV charger and station needs; 2) vehicle charging patterns; 3) charging technology and standardization, and; 4) workforce, supply chain, and manufacturing to support charging of medium- and heavy-duty battery EVs in federal vehicle classes four through eight, which include delivery vans, school buses, semi-tractor trucks, fire trucks, dump trucks, and tour buses.
The agency said in a statement that this RFI will help inform how the federal government, including the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies, can support the development and timely build-out of a national EV charging network that balances the needs of rapidly evolving technology and infrastructure investments in freight and a multimodal transportation system.
In the National Blueprint for Decarbonization, the FHWA said the Biden administration aims to have 30 percent of new medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales in the United States be zero-emissions by 2030, and 100 percent by 2040.
Comments must be received on or before November 12, FHWA said, though late-filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.