The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded nearly $250 million for a multistate project to add electric truck chargers along an East Coast freight corridor.
The EPA awarded the funds to the Clean Corridor Coalition, a group consisting of environmental and transportation leaders in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland. The coalition will use the grant to fund a regional charging network for electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks along Interstate 95. The interstate was also identified by the Biden administration as a priority for the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy.
The $248.9 million will establish 24 freight truck charging sites with 450 charging ports across the states. This infrastructure is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 18.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050, the EPA said in an announcement. The project will also train 400 workers, including specialized workforce training for low-income and disadvantaged community members.
The roadway stretching from Connecticut to Maryland is one of the most densely populated freight corridors in the United States, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said. The route also handles freight from several large ports.
Of the 24 charging sites, New Jersey will have nine, Maryland will have eight, Connecticut will have six, and Delaware will have one.
Peg Hanna, the director of NJDEP’s Division of Climate Change Mitigation and Monitoring, told FreightWaves in an interview that the coalition received the money on Oct. 19 and will begin public outreach in January with plans to release a request for information in June. Each state will publish separate RFPs for charging stations in January 2026 with plans to award projects in April 2026.
“Transportation is the largest contributor of greenhouse gasses in New Jersey when compared to all the other sources of emissions,” Hanna said.
Hanna said the Biden administration’s announcement identifying I-95 as a top priority for adding truck chargers confirmed the coalition was on the right track. The national EV plan aligns with the Biden administration’s goal of at least 30% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030 and 100% by 2040.
Electric truck use is growing, but affordability and range anxiety remain hurdles in mass deployment of the vehicles. The New York-based Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, reported that more than 10,000 electric trucks were deployed last year, up from about 1,900 in 2023.
Stephanie Johnson, spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Transportation, said the project gives the states the opportunity to “be a catalyst” for an increase in electric fleets.
She said the I-95 plan will also improve the health and communities impacted by the emissions.
Other states are also working on building out electric truck infrastructure. California, Oregon and Washington are executing a similar project to electrify a freight corridor. Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Transportation are working to build an interstate capable of wirelessly charging electric trucks.
EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia called the funding “a pivotal investment in our efforts to address climate change and promote environmental justice.”
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