© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An electric car charging station is seen in the parking garage of Union Station in Washington, U.S., September 29, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo
(Reuters) -The U.S. Departments of Transportation and Energy will invest$325 million across three programs to advance EV technologies, repair chargers and cut battery costs, the White House said in a statement on Friday.
“This new funding for EV chargers will repair and replace existing, non-operational chargers across the country, reduce costs for deploying charging in underserved communities, and cut battery costs”, the statement added.
On Thursday, the U.S. awarded nearly $150 million for projects in 20 states to repair or replace nearly 4,500 existing electric vehicle charging ports.
The new funds are part of the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program funded by a $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure law. Under the program, states need to operate federally-funded charging ports for at least five years, which must work 97% of the time.