Springfield, IL - Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Director John J. Kim today announced $25.1 million is being awarded to 20 applicants for electric vehicle charging infrastructure under the Driving a Cleaner Illinois program. The grants will fund 643 new Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) ports at 141 locations throughout the state. The awards are based on a Notice of Funding Opportunity issued in late 2023, seeking publicly accessible locations statewide. These grants were made possible through Governor Pritzker's bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan and authorized under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). In 2023, Illinois EPA awarded $12.6 million in Volkswagen Settlement funding for more than 300 new EV fast charging ports.

"In Illinois, we're strategically turning our vision for a clean energy future into a reality," said 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."

"Through these grants, Illinois will increase the number of fast charging ports by over 100 percent, resulting in nearly 1,000 more fast charging ports available for Illinois' EV motorists and visitors," said Director Kim. "This is significant progress in building out EV charging infrastructure throughout Illinois, with more opportunities on the way."

These awards fund DCFC charging stations at publicly accessible locations (shopping centers, retail stores, gas stations, hotels, etc.) across the state. Additional points were awarded to projects in Equity Investment Eligible Communities.

The Illinois EPA also recently announced Round 2 of CEJA EV charging funding, which includes the same eligible private-sector applicants and Level 3 DCFC Chargers, while also opening eligibility to units of local government and Level 2 chargers. More information about Round 2 is available at this link: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/air-quality/driving-a-cleaner-illinois.html.