Projects Funded by the Joint Office
The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office) is funding projects across the United States whose outcomes aim to improve and expand zero-emission and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure for all Americans.
As the nation experiences the biggest transportation transformation in a century, more research and understanding are essential to support a convenient, accessible, equitable, and reliable charging experience. The Joint Office is dedicated to partnering with National Laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to ensure a successful transition to a clean transportation system through projects informing the advancement of such technologies across the United States.
The electric vehicle grid integration (EVGI) team at NREL performs evaluations of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles to support the development of EV connectors.
Ongoing Projects
Below are descriptions and resources for ongoing Joint Office funded projects ranging from soft costs related to building infrastructure to equity best practices.
The BILD-AQ framework is creating a tool to estimate air pollutant emissions, concentration, and mortality benefits of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funded EV infrastructure deployment. Once complete, the tool will be able to estimate national, or state-by-state, impacts of EV infrastructure deployment. This project began in April 2023, with an estimated launch date of March 2024.
Labs Leading This Project
Caldera is an EV infrastructure simulation platform that bridges the gap between transportation and grid models and provides accurate co-simulation of both. The software tool aims to enable users from states, power companies, and others to better plan for EV infrastructure implementation. Caldera Cast began in October 2022 and is undergoing testing and work to improve the user interface.
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Project Resource
The National Charging Experience (ChargeX) Consortium convenes industry, national labs, consumer advocates, and other stakeholders to measure and improve public charging reliability in North America by 2025. It aims to guide state governments and other stakeholders to deploy funding and accelerate the transition to electrified transportation. The project began in June 2023, with an estimated completion date of June 2025.
Labs Leading this Project
Project Resource
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory began Phase 1 of a three-phase project aimed at mitigating system and supply chain threats, managing cyber risk, and furthering the adoption of EVs across America in August 2023. The outcome of this effort, projected for completion in September 2024, will result in a national standard for EV Charging Protocols and Security Provisions that will keep both companies and consumers safe when vehicles are charging.
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This project delved into the various business model archetypes in the EV infrastructure charging space, the barriers in manufacturing and deployment of EV infrastructure, and how policies at the local, state, and federal level can be used to enhance the visibility of these models. It helps stakeholders understand the drivers and sensitivities of each charging model, guiding state government and others in their electrification plans. The project ran from August 2023 to November 2023.
Lab Leading this Project
This project is analyzing the cybersecurity implications of the EV charging system standards required by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. The work aims to allow both government and industry to be aware of, and quickly begin to address, foundational public key infrastructure (PKI), cybersecurity, and other related limitations inherent to the NEVI buildout. The project began in September 2023 with simulation work ongoing.
Labs Leading this Project
Argonne National Lab developed and is maintaining an internal EV dashboard to show regional and national trends in Plug-in EV adoption, technology evolution, EV/battery supply chain, investments, fuel savings, and petroleum reduction. It aims to provide facts about EVs and EV batteries for use by the White House, the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Energy, and the Joint Office. The project launched in October 2022, with a project completion date of September 2024.
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The EVI-X modeling suit informs the planning and development of large-scale EV charging infrastructure deployments. It’s working to provide a more comprehensive understanding of transportation electrification investment needs and will potentially inform the allocation of Joint Office resources.
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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is working to identify, benchmark, and track the soft costs related to electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) installations to better inform deployment. This work aims to provide more engagement activities to help stakeholders identify, track, and address the costs of EVSE implementation in their communities. This effort began in September 2023, with a projected end date of June 2026.
Labs Leading this Project
Argonne National Laboratory is working to identify gaps in the NEVI Formula Program buildouts within cyber security. This project aims to serve as a template for evaluating other NEVI buildouts and provide best practices for current and future deployments. This effort began in October 2023, and is continued with additional support from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Lab Leading this Project
The Guide for Utility Service and Charging Hub Investment Potential project is producing tools to accelerate deployment of NEVI stations. GUS aims to expedite NEVI charging station service request processing time by six months. CHIP aims to help investors identify economically viable locations for NEVI station implementation. This project began in 2023 and is ongoing with coverage expanding to a national level.
Lab Leading this Project
This project is working to inform the development of more accessible and reliable charging networks and drive the widespread adoption of EVs throughout America. J.D. Power is sharing its EV IndexSM with Argonne National Laboratory researchers, offering valuable insights into the EV market, and a deeper understanding of the EV charging consumer experience. This project began in 2023 and is ongoing.
Lab Leading this Project
Project Highlight and Resource
The Joint Office United Support for Transportation Electrification (JUST) Consortium provides specific resources and support for the assessment of the equity and distributional impacts of the nation’s transportation electrification process through funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The effort began in September 2022 and work is ongoing.
Labs Leading this Project
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Argonne National Laboratory
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Project Highlights and Resources
- Case Studies: Centering Equity in Community-Based E-Mobility Projects
- Community Engagement Tips of EV Infrastructure Deployment
- Electric vehicle program designs and strategies to enhance equitable deployment
- Equity and Energy Justice-Related Metric Development for Evaluation of State- Level Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Programs
- Webinar: Community Engagement in Transportation
- Webinar: Minority-Owned Business Outreach and Partnerships for EV Infrastructure
- Webinar: Centering Equity in Community-Based E-Mobility Projects
Past Projects
Below are descriptions and resources for completed projects funded by the Joint Office, ranging from tools to white papers.
AFLEET is a standalone spreadsheet tool for state and local agencies to estimate emission from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law proposals. It aims to enable them to easily quantify impacts of alternative fuels refueling infrastructure at specific locations by entering project data. This work began and was completed in 2023.
Lab Leading this Project
Project Highlights and Resources
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center released a white paper and summary of EV charging solutions serving multifamily housing (MFH) residents). The effort aims to serve as a primer on technologies and approaches to bring the benefits of electrification to MFH residents. This effort began in September 2023, with the white paper published in January 2024.
Lab Leading this Project
Project Highlights and Resources
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center is building a one-stop resource to help urban communities scope, plan, and identify ways to fund EV charging infrastructure. The project aims to clarify the scoping, planning, and funding process for stakeholders new to EV charging. It also supports community charging grant recipients through project implementation. The toolkit was published online in July 2023.
Lab Leading this Project
Project Highlights and Resources