FAQs
EnergIIZE incentives are for the construction of public, private, or shared EV charging or hydrogen fueling stations that serve medium- and heavy-duty (Class 2b-8) fleets in California for the following purposes:
See the Implementation Manual Section 3, Eligibility for more information.
You can find which funding lanes are open and submit an application in the Incentive Processing Center (IPC) at https://calstart3.my.site.com/apply/s/.
EnergIIZE eligible costs must include at least one new EV charger or hydrogen dispenser per conditional award. To receive reimbursement for eligible project costs, all submitted project costs must support the deployment of ZEV infrastructure for MDHD ZEV vehicles (Class 2b-8), must be incurred after the conditional award date, and must be deemed necessary for the ZEV infrastructure’s operation by the EnergIIZE project team. Eligible Project Costs include but are not limited to:
- Electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), including Level 2, direct current (DC), and inductive charging systems
- Equipment capable of Vehicle to Grid (V2G) bidirectional charging
- Transformers
- Switchgear, meter mains, and circuit breaker panels
- Charger accessories
- Utility service upgrades (e.g., amperage upgrades to infrastructure site)
- Stub-outs for future EVSE or inductive charging systems need to match the business case, utility capacity, and fleet coordination
- Dispenser with hose and nozzles
- Hydrogen storage
- Compressors
- Liquid and gaseous hydrogen pumps
- Point-of-sale systems
- Piping and pipelines
- Enclosures
- Electrolyzers
- Chillers
- Power supply unit (for electrolyzer)
- Water treatment system
- Control and monitoring system for electrolyzer
- Pressure regulators and relief valves
- Cooling system for compressor
- Pressure sensors and flow meters
- Overall station control system
- Emergency Shut Down (ESD) system
- Fire detection and suppression systems
- Ventilation system components
- Transformers
- Switchgear, meter mains, and circuit breaker panels
- Utility service upgrades (e.g., amperage upgrades to infrastructure site)
- Stub-outs for future fueling equipment to match the business case, utility capacity, and fleet coordination
- One-time network costs: Networked or “SMART” EVSEs are required. EnergIIZE provides incentives for the required initial network costs.
- Fleet management software
- Demand management software
- Monthly service fees are not eligible for incentives through EnergIIZE.
- One-time maintenance plan costs for eligible EVSE or hydrogen equipment for the duration of the EnergIIZE agreement.
- One-time warranty costs for eligible EVSE or hydrogen equipment for the duration of the EnergIIZE agreement.
EnergIIZE funds may be used in conjunction, or stacked, with sources of outside funding such as local or air district funds, grants, and/or private investments, but they may not be stacked with other California Energy Commission funds for the same project. Under no circumstances may the total incentive, grant, or Incentive Recipient funds from combined sources exceed the total project cost. Similarly, funding for an item or piece of equipment from combined sources cannot be greater than 100 percent of total item cost. Incentive contributions must remain separate from all other funding sources for accounting purposes.
Step 1: Submit Application
Step 2: Provide Supporting Documents
Step 3: Permitting and Construction
Step 4: Commission Project
Each project step must be completed within the time allotted. General requirements for each project step are listed in this Summary of Project Step Requirements.
Once a completed application is submitted, the EnergIIZE project team will review the application and will reach out for follow-up questions. Applicants will be notified of their award status within 60 business days of the application review period starting.
Once a project receives a notice of conditional award, they will be moved to Step 2 of 4. Step 2 must be completed 90 calendar days after the conditional award notice. The project must be commissioned with Step 4 documents submitted 24 months after the conditional award notice for EV projects and 36 months after the conditional award notice for hydrogen projects.
Requests to change the charging or fueling equipment can be made after notice of conditional award only in Step 2. Changes must be approved by the EnergIIZE team and will not result in a conditional award amount increase.
Requests for extension must be made in writing via the Incentive Recipient’s profile in the Incentive Processing Center (IPC) using the Extension Request Form. The request must clearly explain the nature of the delay, how that delay is outside of the Incentive Recipient’s control and include appropriate supporting documentation explaining the reason for the delay (e.g., email correspondence from permitting agency, equipment procurement documents, etc.).
Any requests without supporting documentation shall be declined.
Projects requesting an extension to complete the Project Step requirements must submit their request, via the IPC, at least 15 calendar days prior to the deadline. Requests made outside this window must clearly explain why such requests could not have been made earlier.
Approved extensions shall not exceed six months for EV or eight months for hydrogen past a given deadline (per extension), unless explicitly granted in writing from EnergIIZE Staff.
Refer to the Extension and Cancellation Policy for more details.
Projects awarded after April 2025 will be eligible for payment once Step 4 has been completed and approved. Projects awarded before April 2025 may be eligible for a milestone payment once Step 3 has been completed and approved. Milestone payments may not exceed 50 percent of the conditional award amount.
Infrastructure funded by EnergIIZE must be operational for a period of six years. This agreement period is subject to change based on California state regulatory requirements.
All completed projects receiving EnergIIZE funds are required to report utilization data quarterly to the EnergIIZE team for the duration of the EnergIIZE agreement. The required data is determined by the California Energy Commission.
Projects meeting one or more of the following conditions may be eligible for additional funding, up to 25% per port or dispenser:
Multiple applications for unique project sites under the same Incentive Recipient TIN will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Incentive Recipients, as identified by the Incentive Recipient TIN, may NOT be awarded more than 25 percent of total available funding. Additionally, no Incentive Recipient may have more than a cumulative total of 50 active applications/projects open across CEC-funded block grants and solicitations.
The EnergIIZE Set-Aside pairs vehicle incentives, such as those from the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) with infrastructure (EnergIIZE) incentives for electric vehicle charging and/or hydrogen fueling infrastructure equipment. These funding lanes provide an exclusive opportunity for Drayage or Transit infrastructure incentives and requires the Applicant to provide proof of vehicle voucher by Step 3 of the EnergIIZE process. Most other requirements are the same as EnergIIZE standard lanes.
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