The increased use of alternative vehicle and fuel technologies promises to yield multiple benefits, including lower localized and regional on-road emissions, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing our reliance on foreign sources of oil. There are significant economic, national security, and environmental costs of the petroleum-based fuels currently used in our transportation system. For these and other reasons, vehicle manufacturers and the traveling public are increasingly investing in these technologies. State and local transportation agencies are often required to reduce on-road criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions to meet air quality and climate goals. Addressing these issues takes a great deal of communication and coordination among all levels of government. Especially among state and local transportation, energy, and environmental agencies. The goal of this project is to assist state and local transportation agencies interested in promoting the use of alternative vehicle and fuel technologies at a state, regional or corridor scale with the needed tools, information, and knowledge to do so. The nexus between the energy and transportation sectors is becoming more interlinked. Understanding this linkage is important for the FHWA and other USDOT modal administrations as it likely affects their mission and programs. Existing highway infrastructure and funding is designed around a gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicle fleet. The use of a substantially greater number of alternative vehicle and fuel technologies create a significant difference in fueling practices and infrastructure requirements. In addition, these new vehicle fuels and technologies may have other implications for highway finance, safety approaches, and operations. The initial focus of this project will be on electric vehicle (EV) deployment efforts, but the overall project scope will include consideration of other alternative vehicle and fuel technologies that may begin to play a substantial role in the light-duty and heavy-duty transportation sector such as fuel cell hydrogen vehicles or increased usage of natural gas (i.e. CNG and LNG). This project will build upon a prior FHWA EV pooled fund effort, which was led by WSDOT and included 13 state DOTs. The goal of this effort was to establish a community of practice that could share information as the states develop strategies and best practices to support commercialization of EVs and infrastructure. Specifically, the project brought together executive-level representatives from participating State DOTs to engage in a series of discussions, and peer-to-peer exchanges in order to build capacity and capabilities to work with private partners as well as federal, state and local officials as transportation electrification efforts gain momentum around the country.

The objectives of this project will be twofold: (1) implementation of 8-10 regional/topic-based workshops for state and local transportation agencies, their state counterparts and stakeholders to discuss the current status of alternative vehicle and fuels technologies in their specific region; and, (2) development of a “toolkit” for state and local transportation agencies who are interested in advancing the deployment of alternative vehicle and fuels technologies. The toolkit will be tailored to the specific needs of each region.

Task 1 – Work Plan and kick-off meeting. Task 2 – Development of a strategy or framework outlining the structure and content of each workshop. Task 3 – Organization and implementation of 5-6 regional/topic-based workshops. Task 4 – Development of a summary report and Toolkit for each workshop. Task 5 – Technical assistance support for up to 6 months after delivery of Toolkit. Task 6 – Training and Outreach A1 Task 7 -- Build out Project Website, Planning Guide, Calculator, and Toolkit A1 Task 8 -- Oversee Pilots to Test Website, Planning Guide, and Toolkits A1 Task 9 -- Provide Funding for CALSTART to support the Northeast Clean Freight Corridors Workgroup and implement a clean corridor workshop. A1 Task 10 -- Provide Additional Workshop support

• FHWA will contribute approximately $200,000 in seed funding to this effort • FHWA is requesting $5,000 to $20,000 from each organization interested in participating in the pooled fund • Total cost of project is approximately $400,000 • The pooled fund solicitation will be open for six months after posting date • The period of performance for the project will be 24 months