Communities Taking Charge Accelerator (Topic Area 2)

Topic 2 projects may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:  

• Testing how electrified micro-cars, cars, trucks, vans, and cargo e-bikes can deliver goods in a low or zero-emission delivery zone; 
  
• Development of management, reservation, and coordination strategies for charging multiple fleets at public/behind-the-fence charging infrastructure to reduce grid infrastructure needs and/or reduce overall costs to fleets; 
  
• Needs assessment and energy/infrastructure planning for ancillary facilities and charging depots for equipment at industrial areas such as airports, ports, warehouses, depots, staging lots, etc.; 
  
• Novel ways to measure and monitor reduction in greenhouse gas outputs, improved air quality, and effects on grid power consumption; 
  
• Establishing curb management best practices; and infrastructure designating, permitting, and charging for curb access for both electrified freight movement and personal mobility in commercial corridors;
  
• Strategies or infrastructure that help app-based delivery, for-hire drivers, and other workers have access to electrified mobility and charging options; 
  
• Converting under-utilized parking lots into charging depots to support delivery or other services. 

Proposed prime recipient(s) and subrecipient(s) must be one of the following: 

• Institutions of Higher Education;
• For-Profit Entities and Non-Profit Entities; and
• State and Local Governmental Entities, and Indian Tribes.
  

Applications can be proposed exclusively as planning projects, exclusively as demonstration/deployment projects, or as a combination of both. 

Applicants must plan/budget for participation in the Joint Office annual meeting. Awarded projects will provide a technical presentation and/or poster to detail the plans, progress, and results of the technical effort. Awarded projects will also share best practices and exchange ideas across similar projects in the topic area. 
Teams are highly encouraged to select Project Partners across multiple disciplines including land use and urban design, transportation, energy, labor, community engagement, and equity. 

Planning Projects: Can conduct needs assessments; feasibility analyses to inform an upcoming procurement; site analysis for a future pilot; community engagement; create a strategic plan or design a new program and its guidelines; or undergo regulatory, zoning, and/or permitting changes to accelerate the deployment of charging. Examples:

• Evaluations of the benefits of power sharing and right-sizing panel upgrades for depot charging as needed for fleet transition; 
  Engagement and outreach to measure customer willingness to participate in a range of managed charging approaches; 
  
• Drafting parking, permitting, and curb management strategies or plans, in addition to related programming and infrastructure, that will help implement new regulatory paradigms for urban good movement; and  
  
• Creating new or additional internal, institutional capacity such as task forces, departmental offices, and staff positions. 
  

Demonstration/Deployment Projects: Will implement forward-looking concepts for how to best provide electrification of high-usage mobility devices, equipment, and fleet vehicles, and should result in lessons learned that can be scalable and repeatable in other communities or industries around the country. Examples: 

• Innovative or novel use of sensors or other physical hardware to measure energy consumption, air quality, safety, or other related factors at industrial areas such as airports, ports, warehouses, depots, staging lots, etc.; 
  
• Purchase of electric bikes, scooters, or light-duty vehicles for shared fleet use; greater consideration is given to enhancing existing fleets and/or replacing non-electric motorized vehicles; 
  
• Purchase of equipment and installation expenses related to electric micromobility/light-duty vehicles for shared fleet charging infrastructure; 
  
• Purchase of equipment and installation expenses for on-street installation for exclusive use by medium-duty vehicles and buses; and  
  
• Development (or pilot) of curb or off-street charging infrastructure exclusively for electric shared ride and delivery vehicles.