The Project & Team

In early 2020, staff from East Tennessee Clean Fuels (ETCF) and Clean Fuels Ohio (CFO) opined, “what if we could get a significant number of largely flyover states together to share in developing plans for building effective Drive Electric programs in all our states?” That question turned into the DRIVE Electric USA proposal that was selected and awarded by the US Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office in summer 2020. The project is running from October 2020 through December 2023 and is comprised of a group of diverse stakeholders, including Clean Cities Coalitions from fourteen states, electric vehicle and EVSE OEMs, and other committed partners who are dedicated to raising awareness and adoption of EVs across the United States. We will use our states as great and dissimilar examples of how to successfully build statewide, successful EV efforts to drive the purchase and use of EVs of all sizes and by general citizens and fleets.

In order to accomplish this goal, project leaders and implementers will educate consumers, utilities, utility regulators, and government officials while engaging auto dealers and fleet leaders, conducting EV infrastructure planning, and developing local EV chapters. All of this will occur under the banner of each branded, statewide EV initiative which will be guided by that state’s stakeholders. The project will create a replication playbook based on outputs and lessons learned and build successful long-term continuation through funding and partnerships. Additionally, a 28-member Project Advisory Committee (PAC) will provide input and guide the coalitions and their statewide efforts to break down barriers as quickly as we can towards accelerating EV adoption in our states.

Of the Clean Cities coalitions that are partners in our project states… nine partner coalitions are led by Clean Cities Hall of Fame inductees, and ten coalition’s leaders have been operating their coalitions for 10 years or more. Learn more about our statewide initiatives and who is leading each state’s efforts in the boxes below.