New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, D, announced Thursday a state initiative to offer awards of up to $3 million each for research proposals that help New York overcome barriers to electric vehicle grid integration as well as medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle use.
The program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA, will award up to a total of $12 million to entities whose proposals are selected. Both battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are included in the program’s definition of an EV.
“The goal of this program is to develop and demonstrate innovative technologies and operational approaches to make EV adoption more economically viable while reducing their impact on the electric grid in New York State,” NYSERDA said in its program opportunity notice.
Hochul’s office said the state aims to use this funding to advance well-managed charging infrastructure and limit grid integration costs; “improve the economics” of EV ownership; spur innovations that boost EV deployment such as “bi-directional charging, energy storage, and on-site energy generation”; and demonstrate medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrification.
“Decarbonizing New York’s transportation sector is crucial to reaching our climate goals, and this will require out-of-the-box solutions and innovative clean energy sources,” said District 106 state assemblymember Didi Barrett, D, chair of the Assembly’s Energy Committee. “This funding will allow us to explore how emerging technologies, like hydrogen fuel cells, can be used to reduce our carbon footprint and expand our state’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure.”
NYSERDA’s notice said the state will need to “rapidly electrify” medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to meet its climate goals, and as a result is in need of new approaches to “challenging use cases” outside of light-duty vehicles and buses.
In addition, NYSERDA said there is a “consistent need” for novel solutions and innovative approaches to grid flexibility related to EVs as the pace of transportation electrification is “set to accelerate dramatically” in the state.
The deadline for the first round of concept papers is 3 p.m. on Sept. 12. Private, nonprofit and public entities are all eligible to submit proposals.
