By: @Ophelia Szigeti
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that, under the 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grants Program Notice of Funding Opportunity, they will award up to $932 million in competitive grant funding for clean heavy-duty vehicles to municipalities throughout the country. To be considered for funding all application packages must be submitted to the EPA through Grants.gov by Thursday, July 25, 2024, at 8:59 PM (PT).
The projected notification selection will take place in November of 2024 with awards being distributed in February 2025. Third party contractors, such as transportation service providers and vehicle and charging equipment manufacturers are not eligible to apply; however, they may still participate in the grant program by encouraging participants to apply and working with grantees through the bidding process once grants have been awarded.
Eligible activities and costs for the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicle grant program will include:
- Incremental cost of replacing a non-zero emission Class 6/7 heavy-duty vehicle with an eligible Class 6/7 zero-emission vehicle.
- The purchase in installation of refueling infrastructure to support vehicles replaced under this program.
- Driver/mechanic training related to maintenance and operation of new technologies and vehicle warranties.
- Costs directly related to the implementation, management, and oversight of the project, including recipient and subrecipient personnel and benefits, contractual services, consulting on vehicle deployments, travel, supplies, and indirect costs.
Eligible Existing Vehicles to be Replaced
To be eligible for replacement, existing vehicles must be a class 6 or 7 heavy-duty vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating between 19,501 lbs. to 33,000 lbs., and they must be fully operational at the time of application submission, meaning they should be able to start, move and have all necessary parts to be operational. The vehicle must be an engine model year (EMY) 2010 or older diesel-powered vehicles that will be scrapped if selected for funding. If a fleet has no eligible EMY 2010 or older diesel-powered vehicles, the fleet can either scrap an EMY 2010 or older non-diesel internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered vehicle; scrap, sell, or donate an EMY 2011 or newer diesel or non-diesel ICE-powered vehicle; or move an EMY 2011 or newer diesel or non-diesel ICE-powered vehicle; or move an EMY 2011 or newer diesel or non-diesel ICE-powered vehicle to a “reduced service” fleet fand scrap an EMY 2010 or older reduced-service vehicle in its place.
Additional requirements for vehicles being replaced through the Vocational Vehicles Sub-Program include that vehicles must have accumulated at least 7,000 miles per year during each of the two years prior to replacement, with the mileage of two vehicles potentially being combined to reach 7,000 miles per year where two or more vehicles will be replaced by a single vehicle.
Eligible New Replacement Vehicles
To be eligible as a replacement, new vehicles must be a zero-emission vehicle, be a Class 6 or Class 7 heavy-duty vehicle, and be an engine model year 2023 or newer that is certified to conform with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The vehicles must be ordered only after receiving official notification of award for EPA funding and must be purchased, not leased or leased to own.
Additionally, they must not be manufactured or retrofitted with, or otherwise have installed, a power unit or other technology that creates air pollution within the vehicle, and they must not be purchased or otherwise subsidized with other federal grant funds.
Eligible Charging Infrastructure
Eligible electric infrastructure is restricted to installations and upgrades behind the electric meter, which may include charging equipment such as alternating current (AC) Level 2 chargers, direct-current fast chargers, or vehicle-to-grid enabled equipment. This also encompasses design and engineering costs, installation expenses like trenching, wiring, electrical upgrades, labor and permitting, as well as related intelligent equipment and software designed for monitoring vehicle and infrastructure performance, such as telematics or charge management software.
EPA funds cannot be used for infrastructure costs related to work on the utility’s side of the electrical meter. All AC Level 2 charging infrastructure purchased through this program must be EPA ENERGY STAR certified at the time of purchase. The EPA also recommends that other charging infrastructure funded under this program be listed by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory. Furthermore, the EPA encourages recipients to consider their long term-fleet electrical needs when installing charging equipment., allowing for the installation of additional electrical capacity on the customer side of the meter to support future charging requirements, such as purchasing and running additional electrical conduit during trenching and wiring upgrades.
Electricians involved in installing, operating, or maintaining electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) must be certified by the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP) or another program approved by the EPA in consultation with the Department of Labor and Department of Transportation. For projects requiring multiple electricians, at least one must meet these certification requirements. Recipients should obtain and maintain proof of EVITP certification from their electricians for project audit purposes. Additionally, applicants should be aware that Build America, Buy America requirements apply to eligible vehicle charging infrastructure equipment.
Fueling Infrastructure
Eligible fueling infrastructure encompasses facilities for new hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, including storage tanks, liquid and gaseous pumps and vaporizers, compressors, heat exchangers, chillers, piping, and pipelines, within the facility, and high-pressure dispensers (such as hoses, nozzles, and meters) necessary for fueling the new hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles funded by the project.
Applicants should note that Build America, Buy America requirements apply to vehicle fueling infrastructure equipment. Detailed information can be accessed here.
Application Process
Application packages must be submitted electronically to the EPA via Grants.gov. The registration process on Grants.gov requires your organization to have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), previously known as the DUNS number, and a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). Be advised that obtaining both identifiers can take a month or more for new registrants.
Organizations applying for this funding opportunity must also have an active registration with the System for Award Management. If your organization has never done business with the Federal Government, you will need to register at SAM.gov. If you do not have a SAM.gov account, you must create one using the government sign-in service (login.gov) to complete the registration.
Applicants with existing Grants.gov accounts should verify the status of their SAM.gov account and resolve any issues before applying. It is important to note that SAM.gov registrations do expire, and inactive accounts must be re-registered to submit an application. Information on registration requirements can be found on Grants.gov under the “Applicants” section and under the “Get Registered” link. For assistance with SAM.gov account issues, contact the Federal Service Desk at (866) 606-8220, Monday – Friday 5 AM to 5 PM (PT).
Webinars
The EPA will also host a series of webinars related to the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program.
Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicle Grant Program: Grant Forms and FAQ Zoom Registration Link.
June 17 – 12:00 PM (PT)
EPA’s Clean School Bus Program Zoom Registration Link.
June 18 – 10:00 AM (PT)
July 24 – 10:00 AM (PT)
August 28 – 10:00 AM (PT)
September 25 – 10:00 AM (PT)
Questions
The EPA will periodically update their FAQ for the most current information. For additional information email cleanvehicles@epa.gov. Type “Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicle NOFO Question” in the subject line of your email. Deadline to submit questions that the EPA will be available to respond to prior the application deadline is 8:59 PM (PT) July 8, 2024.
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