US President Joe Biden has announced $900 million for electric vehicle chargers across 33 states, the first round of $7.5 billion in federal funding for a national charging system, Kallanish reports.

President Biden announced the grants for 500,000 charging stations while appearing with US automakers at a major car show in Detroit, Michigan. The money will go to the states to set up their own charging systems alongside the federal system and its 53,000 miles of highways. The grants will cover federal fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

The federal plan calls for EV charging stations about every 50 miles along interstate highways to create a convenient, reliable, and affordable EV charging network. Once that is accomplished, the states can use the remaining funds to develop additional charging sites in their states.

The US Department of Transportation has approved EV charging plans in 33 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The approved states are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

They had submitted plans under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That programme makes $5 billion available over five years. Other federal funding sources will boost that total to $7.5 billion.

DOT says the remaining state plans will likely be approved in the coming weeks.

In his Michigan speech, President Biden says the United States will spend $135 billion to boost its EV future through recent legislation approved by Congress and signed by the president. He says US auto and battery companies have announced plans to spend $85 billion on the EV boom since President Biden took office.