JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The federal government wants Jacksonville to build more infrastructure for electric vehicles.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced nearly $40 million in grants for communities in Florida to improve electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative fueling infrastructure. 

Out of the $39.7 million in grants, the City of Jacksonville and Florida State College of Jacksonville (FSCJ) will receive $2.8 million. The funding will be used to install 100 EV chargers in public areas and school campuses. 

This project is one of 49 that will deploy more than 11,500 EV charging ports and hydrogen and natural gas fueling infrastructure across 27 states, according to FHWA. 

The grants came from zero-emission refueling infrastructure programs authorized through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which invests up to $108 billion for public transport nationwide. 

The FHWA said the project in Jacksonville aims to address the area’s electric charging gap, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and promote greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Through funding from public and private sectors, the number of publicly accessible chargers has more than doubled since 2021, according to FHWA. 

“The Biden Administration has made historic investments to support the EV transition and make sure it’s made in America,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These investments will help states and communities build out a network of EV chargers in the coming years so that one day, finding a charge on a road trip will be as easy as filling up at a gas station.”

Today, there are more than 206,000 publically avaliable EV charging ports across the country. FHWA said the U.S. is on track to build out 500,000 EV chargers by 2030, a goal set by Biden to address climate change.

For a list of all the grant recipients, click here.