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Biannual Request for Information on the Status of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger Industry Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Highway Administration Byline: Shailen P. Bhatt Date: 8 November 2023 Subjects: American Government  , Electric Vehicles
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77140-77143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24696]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. FHWA-2023-0029]
Biannual Request for Information on the Status of the Electric
Vehicle (EV) Charger Industry
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: On February 21, 2023, FHWA established a Build America, Buy
America (BABA) implementation plan by publishing a temporary public
interest waiver of Buy America requirements for steel, iron,
manufactured products, and construction materials in electric vehicle
(EV) chargers. This short-term, temporary waiver was structured to
enable EV charger acquisition and installation to immediately proceed
while also ensuring the application of Buy America to EV chargers by
the phasing out of the waiver over time. While promulgating the final
waiver, FHWA announced that it would conduct biannual RFIs to receive
information on the status of the EV charger industry. Requests for
comment include, but are not limited to, the number of chargers
recently produced by EV charger manufacturers, projections on chargers
expected to be produced, and the number of EV chargers recently
purchased by recipients of Federal financial assistance and projected
to be purchased by recipients of Federal financial assistance in the
near future.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 26, 2023. Late-
filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions,
please submit comments by only one of the following ways:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov and
follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The
telephone number is (202) 366-9329.
Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket
number at the beginning of your comments. Except as described below
under the heading ``Confidential Business Information,'' all
submissions received, including any personal information provided, will
be posted without change or alteration to www.regulations.gov. For more
information, you may review the U.S. DOT's complete Privacy Act
Statement published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice,
please contact Mr. Brian Hogge, FHWA Office of Infrastructure, (202)
366-1562, or via email at Brian.Hogge@dot.gov. For legal questions,
please contact Mr. David Serody, FHWA Office of the Chief Counsel,
(202) 366-4241, or via email at David.Serody@dot.gov. Office hours for
FHWA are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access and Filing
A copy of this notice, all comments received on this notice, and
all background material may be viewed online at www.regulations.gov
using the docket number listed above. Electronic retrieval assistance
and guidelines are also available at www.regulations.gov. An electronic
copy of this document also may be downloaded from the Office of the
Federal Register's website at: www.FederalRegister.gov and the U.S.
Government Publishing Office's website at: www.GovInfo.gov.
Confidential Business Information
Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552),
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to
this notice contain commercial or financial information that is
customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, and
that is relevant or responsive to this notice, it is important that you
clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI.
You may ask FHWA to give confidential treatment to information you
give to the Agency by taking the following steps: (1) Mark each page of
the original document submission containing CBI as ``Confidential'';
(2) send FHWA, along with the original document, a second copy of the
original document with the CBI deleted; and (3) explain why the
information you are submitting is CBI. The FHWA will protect
confidential information complying with these requirements to the
extent required under applicable law. If DOT receives a FOIA request
for the information that the applicant has marked in accordance with
this notice, DOT will follow the procedures described in its FOIA
regulations at 49 CFR 7.29. Only information that is marked in
accordance with this notice and ultimately determined to be exempt from
disclosure under FOIA and Sec. 7.29 will not be released to a
requester or placed in the public docket of this notice. Submissions
containing CBI should be sent to: Mr. Brian Hogge, FHWA, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, HICP-20, Washington, DC 20590 via mail or via email
at brian.hogge@dot.gov. Any comment submissions that FHWA receives that
are not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public
docket for this matter.
Background
On August 31, 2022, FHWA issued a notice of a proposed waiver of
Buy America requirements for EV chargers, at 87 FR 53539 (``Proposed
Waiver''). After reviewing the comments received, on February 21, 2023,
FHWA established a BABA Implementation Plan for EV charging equipment
through a temporary public interest waiver of Buy America requirements
for steel, iron, manufactured products, and construction materials in
EV chargers under 23 U.S.C. 313 and section 70914
[[Page 77141]]
of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), enacted as the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58), at 88
FR 10619 (``Final Waiver''). As of March 23, 2023 (the effective date),
the Final Waiver applied to all EV chargers manufactured before July 1,
2024, whose final assembly occurs in the United States, and whose
installation has begun by October 1, 2024 (``the Final Assembly
Phase''). Starting with EV chargers manufactured on or after July 1,
2024, FHWA will begin to phase out coverage of EV chargers under the
Final Waiver, and the Final Waiver will then only apply to EV chargers
manufactured on or after July 1, 2024, whose final assembly occurs in
the United States, and for which the cost of components manufactured in
the United States is at least 55 percent of the cost of all components
(``the 55 percent phase''). Further, under the Final Waiver, if an EV
charger's housing is predominantly iron or steel, such housing is not
covered by the Final Waiver at any time; instead, such housing must
comply with FHWA's existing Buy America requirements.
The FHWA intends to issue at least one additional RFI before July
1, 2024.
Comments Received After Issuance of Waiver
In accordance with the provisions of section 117 of the SAFETEA-LU
Technical Corrections Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-244), upon publishing
the Final Waiver in the Federal Register, FHWA provided an opportunity
for public comment on this finding until March 22, 2023.\1\ The FHWA
received four comments during this period: one from the Information
Technology Industry Council (ITI), one from an individual from the
Vogel Group (Vogel), one from the Nucor Corporation (Nucor), and one
from the Aluminum Extruders Council and Aluminum Extrusions Fair Trade
Committee (AEC/AEFTC). As FHWA believes that communication and
collaboration with stakeholders is key to ensuring that the Final
Waiver both enables EV charger acquisition and installation to
immediately proceed while also ensuring the application of Buy America
to EV chargers, it is taking this opportunity to respond to these
comments.
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\1\ Pursuant to section 117(a)(2) of the SAFETEA-LU Technical
Corrections Act of 2008, FHWA did not delay the effective date of
its finding due to the requirement that it provide an opportunity
for public comment.
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The ITI commented that it supported the Final Waiver and urged the
U.S. Government as a whole to consider waiving the application of BABA
procurement preferences for information technology procured as part of
infrastructure projects. The FHWA appreciates ITI's support but issuing
a governmentwide waiver is beyond the scope of this comment period and
FHWA's authority.
Vogel commented that there is growing concern that there is not
enough domestic capacity to meet the demand for the production of the
housing of EV chargers in the United States and asked how FHWA plans to
monitor the cost and availability of EV chargers if Buy America-
compliant housing is not available. The FHWA would welcome data on this
issue (see the questions for EV charger manufacturers below) and will
use these biannual RFIs to monitor the cost and availability of EV
chargers. Finally, Vogel questioned whether FHWA is prepared to act if
a State applies for a waiver of Buy America requirements for the
housing of an EV charger. The FHWA will respond to all waiver requests
with respect to the housing of an EV charger in accordance with FHWA's
existing policies and applicable laws and regulations.
Vogel also asked several questions regarding the Final Waiver's
applicability to the housing of EV chargers. In particular, Vogel
questioned whether it is acceptable to manufacture housing components
in the United States, export the housing components for partial
assembly overseas, and then have the partially-completed charger
imported for final assembly in the United States; what FHWA considers
to be sufficient documentation that the housing components were
produced in the United States before exportation; and what FHWA
considers to be the steel or iron content that makes an EV charger's
housing predominantly iron or steel. To the extent that FHWA has not
addressed these concerns in existing guidance documents discussing
FHWA's Buy America requirements, including the set of frequently asked
questions (FAQs) responding to questions concerning the Final
Waiver,\2\ FHWA will seek to do so in subsequent guidance documents. In
this RFI, FHWA also invites comments on these FAQs as it works to
develop additional guidance that is useful for stakeholders to achieve
the Final Waiver's goals of enabling EV charger acquisition and
installation to quickly proceed while ensuring the application of Buy
America to EV chargers.
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\2\ The FAQs related to the Final Waver are available at:
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/buyam_qaev/buyam_qaev.pdf. The FHWA has also issued other FAQs regarding Buy
America, which can be found at: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/buyam_qa.cfm.
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Nucor and the AEC/AEFTC both provided similar comments, which
largely repeated concerns raised in their separate comments on the
Proposed Waiver. Both commenters repeated that the Final Waiver is
contrary to Congressional intent in enacting BIL, where Congress found,
in section 70911(4), that ``entities using taxpayer-financed Federal
assistance should give a commonsense procurement preference for the
materials and products produced by companies and workers in the United
States.'' Nucor further added that the Final Waiver is contrary to
Congressional intent in enacting section 165 of the Surface
Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-424), which expanded
Buy America coverage to steel products. The AEC/AEFTC commented that
the Final Waiver is generally contrary to the Administration's policy
of maximizing the use of American products in federally funded
infrastructure and promoting domestic manufacturing in clean energy.
Nucor and AEC/AEFTC also reiterated their concerns, stated in their
comments to the Proposed Waiver, regarding the perceived unlimited
duration of the Final Waiver, as both commenters stated that there is
no end date specifically provided in the Final Waiver.
Nucor also repeated the claim it made in the Proposed Waiver that
the Final Waiver is contrary to the Administration's policy of
promoting clean energy because it allows for the use of imported steel,
which prioritizes environmentally unfriendly foreign steel at the
expense of cleaner America-made steel. Nucor further repeated that FHWA
has successfully applied its Buy America requirements to steel
components and subcomponents of manufactured products for decades, that
suppliers of FHWA products have needed to comply with these
requirements for years, and that there is nothing unique about steel
used in EV chargers that would make compliance more difficult. Finally,
Nucor repeated its belief that domestic steel for use in EV chargers is
readily available.
As these comments from Nucor and the AEC/AEFTC repeat what these
commenters provided in response to the Proposed Waiver, which FHWA
responded to in issuing the Final Waiver, FHWA does not find it
necessary to provide further detailed responses.\3\
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\3\ For FHWA's response that the waiver is contrary to
Congressional intent in enacting section 165 of the Surface
Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 and BIL and Administrative
policy regarding domestic production, see id. At 10623. For FHWA's
response to Nucor's comment regarding the perceived unlimited
duration of the waiver, see id. At 10622-23. For FHWA's response to
Nucor's claims on the environmental impacts of foreign steel, see 88
FR at 10624. For FHWA's response to Nucor's comment that FHWA has
successfully applied its Buy America requirements to steel
components of manufactured products for decades, see id. At 10624.
For FHWA's response that there is nothing unique about steel used in
EV chargers that would make compliance more difficult, see id. For
FHWA's response to Nucor's comment that domestic steel for use in EV
chargers is readily available, see id. At 10632-33. The FHWA notes
that in response to comments by Nucor and others that the domestic
steel industry has the capacity to supply steel for use in EV
chargers, FHWA determined that it was not in the public interest to
apply the waiver to the housing of an EV charger if it is
predominantly iron or steel.
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[[Page 77142]]
The AEC/AEFTC emphasized that it strongly opposes the Final
Waiver's coverage of aluminum extrusions used in EV chargers. The AEC/
AEFTC opined that aluminum extrusions--used in EV chargers and
components of EV chargers--are readily available from domestic sources.
While this may be true, removing aluminum extrusions from coverage
under this waiver would mean that these extrusions would need to comply
with existing Buy America requirements under 23 U.S.C. 313 and section
70914 of BIL, and it is not clear to FHWA whether the domestic supply
of aluminum extrusions mentioned by AEC/AEFTC comply with these
requirements. The comment did not provide data on whether all
manufacturing processes used to make aluminum extrusions occurred in
the United States, nor did it state the amount of extrusions that are
produced in compliance with Buy America requirements and the amount
required by the EV charger industry for FHWA to ensure that removing
coverage of extrusions from the Final Waiver would not detrimentally
impact the delivery of EV infrastructure projects.
Request for Information
In the Final Waiver, FHWA announced that it would conduct biannual
RFIs during the final assembly phase to assess industry progress on
producing an EV charger that would conform with the 55 percent phase
and determine whether the EV charger industry is on track to meet the
timeline set out in the Final Waiver. As stated in the Final Waiver,
based on the information received in response to these RFIs, FHWA may
modify the start date of the 55 percent phase after providing adequate
notice of its intention to do so. Under the 55 percent phase, as laid
out in the Final Waiver, EV chargers that are manufactured on and after
July 1, 2024, would conform with the Final Waiver only if final
assembly occurs in the United States and the cost of components
manufactured in the United States exceeds 55 percent of the cost of all
components.
The FHWA encourages commenters to share all information responsive
to the questions below, including confidential information. Doing so
will allow FHWA a complete picture of the current state of the domestic
EV charger industry and its anticipated ability to meet 55 percent
domestic content standard by July 1, 2024, as provided in the final
waiver. The FHWA therefore encourages detailed responses where
possible, including confidential information where applicable, from all
stakeholders to ensure that FHWA has a complete picture of the domestic
EV charging industry.
The FHWA requests information on the following questions. Please
indicate in your written response which question(s) you are answering.
The FHWA encourages stakeholders to answer as many questions as
possible.
EV Charger Manufacturers
1. Approximately how many EV chargers have you manufactured since
the beginning of calendar year 2023 until now that are ready for
installation? What are the charger types (i.e., direct-current fast
chargers (DCFC) or alternating-current level 2 (ACL2) chargers) and
specifications (e.g., maximum charging power, connector type)?
a. Of the chargers manufactured since the beginning of calendar
year 2023 until now that are ready for installation, how many have
final assembly occur in the United States and have the housing, if
predominantly iron or steel, comply with FHWA's existing Buy America
requirements? What are the types of these chargers (i.e., DCFC or ACL2
chargers) and specifications (e.g., maximum charging power, connector
type)?
b. Of the chargers manufactured since the beginning of the calendar
year until now that are ready for installation, how many have final
assembly occur in the United States; have the housing, if predominantly
iron or steel, comply with FHWA's existing Buy America requirements;
and have the cost of components manufactured in the United States be at
least 55 percent of the cost of all components? What are the types of
these chargers (i.e., DCFC or ACL2 chargers) and specifications (e.g.,
maximum charging power, connector type)?
2. Of the EV chargers you have manufactured since the beginning of
calendar year 2023 until now that are ready for installation, how many
are intended to be compliant with FHWA's NEVI Standards and
Requirements (23 CFR part 680)?
a. Of these NEVI-compliant chargers referred to in question 2, how
many have final assembly occur in the United States and have housing,
if predominantly iron or steel, that complies with FHWA's existing Buy
America requirements? What are the charger types (i.e., DCFC or ACL2
chargers) and specifications (e.g., maximum charging power, connector
type)?
b. Of these NEVI-compliant chargers referred to in question 2, how
many have final assembly occur in the United States; have housing, if
predominantly iron or steel, that complies with FHWA's existing Buy
America requirements; and have the cost of components manufactured in
the United States be at least 55 percent of the cost of all components?
What are the charger types (i.e., DCFC or ACL2 chargers) and
specifications (e.g., maximum charging power, connector type)?
3. What is the average time between when a charger is ordered and
when it is finished being manufactured? What is the average time
between when a charger is ordered and when it is shipped? Do these
times vary? If so, why?
4. Approximately how many EV chargers do you expect to produce from
now until June 30, 2024? What do you expect the charger types (i.e.,
DCFC or ACL2 chargers) and specifications (e.g., maximum charging
power, connector type) to be?
5. Of the chargers expected to be produced from now until June 30,
2024, how many are expected to be compliant with FHWA's NEVI Standards
and Requirements (23 CFR part 680)?
a. Of the NEVI-compliant chargers expected to be produced from now
until June 30, 2024, how many are expected to have final assembly occur
in the United States and have housing, if predominantly iron or steel,
that complies with FHWA's existing Buy America requirements? What are
the expected charger types (i.e., DCFC or ACL2 chargers) and
specifications (e.g., maximum charging power, connector type)?
b. Of the NEVI-compliant chargers expected to be produced from now
until June 30, 2024, how many are expected to have final assembly occur
in the United States; have housing, if predominantly iron or steel,
that complies with FHWA's existing Buy
[[Page 77143]]
America requirements; and have the cost of components manufactured in
the United States be at least 55 percent of the cost of all components?
What are the expected charger types (i.e., DCFC or ACL2 chargers) and
specifications (e.g., maximum charging power, connector type)?
6. For chargers expected to be ordered from now until June 30,
2024, what is the average expected time between when a charger is
ordered and when its manufacture is complete? What is the average
expected time between when a charger is ordered and when it is shipped?
Do you expect that these times will vary? If so, why?
7. How have Federal incentives for EVs and EV charging
infrastructure (such as the EV tax credits included in the Inflation
Reduction Act (Pub. L. 117-169) and the Federal funding for EV charging
infrastructure included in BIL) affected your business plans and
models? To what extent have they supported or inhibited expansion or
onshoring of your operations?
8. Will you be able to supply EV chargers to all 50 States, as well
as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico? Have you experienced or do
you expect to experience any limitations to distributing EV chargers to
certain locations? If so, what are these limitations?
9. What obstacles, if any, have you encountered in conducting final
assembly of EV chargers in the United States? What obstacles do you
expect to face in the future?
10. What costs have you incurred in manufacturing EV chargers that
comply with the Final Waiver? What costs do you expect to incur?
11. What obstacles, if any, have you encountered in manufacturing
EV chargers where the cost of components manufactured in the United
States is at least 55 percent of the cost of all components? What
obstacles do you expect to face in the future?
12. What obstacles, if any, have you encountered in manufacturing
EV chargers where the housing, if predominantly iron or steel, complies
with FHWA's existing Buy America requirements?
13. What benefits have you achieved by producing EV chargers in the
United States compared to abroad (e.g., jobs created, wages paid,
innovations spurred, more reliable supply chains, lower transportation
costs)?
14. Are there any components currently manufactured outside of the
United States that could be manufactured in the United States at
reasonable cost but are not? If yes, what are those components, and why
do you believe that they are not being manufactured in the United
States?
15. What steps can be taken to increase the number of EV chargers
that have final assembly occur in the United States; have the cost of
components manufactured in the United States be at least 55 percent of
the cost of all components; and, if the housing is predominantly iron
or steel, have housing that complies with FHWA's existing Buy America
requirements? How long might it take to undertake those steps?
16. What is the volume of EV chargers that could be shifted to
being manufactured to the specifications stated in question 15? How
long would that shift take? How many EV chargers could be manufactured
if that shift occurred and over what time period?
For Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance
17. Please identify all EV charger manufacturers currently selling,
manufacturing, or operating EV chargers in the United States, of which
you are aware.
18. Which EV charger manufacturers are you aware of that produce an
EV charger where final assembly occurs in the United States and where,
if the housing is predominantly iron or steel, the housing complies
with BABA's iron and steel standards? Which EV manufacturers are you
aware of that produce an EV charger where final assembly occurs in the
United States; where the cost of components manufactured in the United
States is at least 55 percent of the cost of all components; and where,
if the housing is predominantly iron or steel, the housing complies
with FHWA's existing Buy America requirements?
19. What sources of Federal financial assistance have you used to
purchase EV chargers from the beginning of calendar year 2023 until
now? For each source, please list the specific source of Federal
financial assistance (e.g., FHWA NEVI funds, EPA Clean School Bus
Program funds), include the number of EV chargers purchased using that
source of funds, the charger types purchased (i.e., DCFC or ACL2
chargers) and their specifications (e.g., maximum charging power,
connector type)?
20. How many EV chargers do you expect to purchase from now until
June 30, 2024, using Federal financial assistance? Please list all
sources of Federal funding used (e.g., FHWA NEVI funds, EPA Clean
School Bus Program funds). For each source, please include the number
of EV chargers purchased using that source of funds, the charger types
purchased (i.e., DCFC or ACL2 chargers) and their specifications (e.g.,
maximum charging power, connector type)?
21. What is the average time between when EV chargers are purchased
and when they are delivered? What is the average time between when EV
chargers are purchased and when they are installed and operational?
Have you found these times to vary? If so, why do you believe this is
the case?
22. Have you received different cost estimates for EV chargers
manufactured before and after the publication of the Final Waiver on
February 21, 2023? If so, what is the difference?
23. Have you received different delivery time estimates for EV
chargers manufactured before and after the publication of the Final
Waiver on February 21, 2023? If so, what is the difference?
24. Has any difficulty in procuring chargers that are compliant
with the Final Waiver caused you to slow your implementation of EV
charging? If so, how many chargers were affected and how long was the
delay?
General
25. The FHWA also requests comments on the FAQs on Buy America
requirements for EV chargers that are posted at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/buyam_qaev/buyam_qaev.pdf, as
well as any additional issues or topics that you believe would be
useful for FHWA to address in subsequent guidance. In providing such
comments, please refer to the specific question number in the FAQs that
you are commenting on.
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
1.85.
Shailen P. Bhatt,
Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-24696 Filed 11-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P