Illinois funds hundreds of new fast-charging points

Among the recipients are local companies, as well as big players such as BP Products North America. The latter received 8.32 million dollars and will set up DC chargers at about 30 petrol stations throughout the state of Illinois. The second biggest winner was Universal EV LLC, receiving nearly 3 million dollars for about 15 locations, and the third spot goes to Red E Charging LLC with just over 2 million dollars in funds.

“Through these grants, Illinois will increase the number of fast charging ports by over 100 per cent, resulting in nearly 1,000 more fast charging ports available for Illinois’ EV motorists and visitors,” says Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim. “This is significant progress in building out EV charging infrastructure throughout Illinois, with more opportunities on the way.”

“In Illinois, we’re strategically turning our vision for a clean energy future into a reality,” says Governor JB Pritzker. “Thanks to recent grant awards, my administration will double the number of publicly available fast charging ports—putting us one step closer to our goal of reaching 100% clean energy by 2050.”

All locations will be publicly accessible and will be located in shopping centres, near retail stores, petrol stations, and hotels, for instance. As Illinois EPA specifies, locations in Equity Investment Eligible Communities were awarded “additional points.” The corresponding tender was issued in late 2023 and authorised under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). The state also recently launched Round 2 of CEJA EV charging funding. According to the website, it will fund DC as well as AC chargers.

epa.illinois.gov (PDF)