Accelerating the Adoption of Electric Vehicles
The “DRIVE Electric USA” initiative is fully developing state-based “Drive Electric” programs across the U.S. that are engaging individuals, utilities, legislators, dealerships, and others towards removing adoption barriers and accelerating plug-in electric vehicle use.

Project Overview
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 U.S. DOE in summer 2020. That project is comprised of a wide variety of stakeholders, including Clean Cities Coalitions from fourteen states and a diverse set of other committed partners who are dedicated to raising awareness and adoption of EVs across the United States and in their states. We will use our states as great and dissimilar examples of how to successfully build statewide, successful EV efforts to accelerate the purchase and use of EVs of all sizes by general citizens and fleets.
Fast forward to 2023 where we have secured additional DOE funding to create the “DEUSA2” project that will add another 12 states and the District of Columbia to the original 14 – new total of 27. The new states will undertake tasks to drive engagement across our Priority Areas (our pillars of barrier busting) and towards developing branded, statewide initiatives that will drive EV outreach, education, and adoption.
In order to accomplish this entity development goal, project leaders and implementers have been and 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 is and will occur under the banner of each branded, statewide EV initiative which will be guided by that state’s stakeholders.
The first DRIVE Electric USA project is right now creating a Replication Playbook – based on outputs and lessons learned – and is developing successful, long-term continuation funding and partnerships. In the first project, a 35-company Project Advisory Committee (PAC) provide valuable input and guided the coalitions and their statewide efforts to accelerate the barrier-busting efforts.
Participating State Drive Electric Programs
Drive Electric Tennessee
East Tennessee Clean Fuels
www.DriveElectricTN.org
Jonathan Overly
jonathan@etcleanfuels.org
Drive Electric Ohio
Clean Fuels Ohio
www.DriveElectricOhio.org
Jacob Schwemlein
Jacob@cleanfuelsohio.org
Drive Electric Alabama
Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition
www.DriveElectricAlabama.org
Mark Bentley
mark@alabamacleanfuels.org
Drive Electric Colorado
Drive Clean Colorado
www.DriveElectricColorado.org
Julia Davila
julia@drivecleanco.org
Drive Electric Florida
University of Central Florida
www.DriveElectricFlorida.org
Colleen Kettles
ckettles@fsec.ucf.edu
Drive Electric Georgia
Clean Cities-Georgia
www.DriveElectricGeorgia.org
Frank Morris
frank@cleancitiesgeorgia.org
Electrify Kansas
Kansas City Regional Clean Cities & Central Kansas Clean Cities
ElectrifyHeartland.org
Jenna Znamenak, Taylor Corn
jenna@metroenergy.org
Drive Electric Louisiana
Louisiana Clean Fuels
www.DriveElectricLA.com
Ann Vail
ann@louisianacleanfuels.org
Electrify Missouri
St. Louis Clean Cities & Kansas City Regional Clean Cities
ElectrifyHeartland.org
Kevin Herdler & Laura Jones
clnfuel@gmail.com, laura@regent-power.com
plug-in nc
Triangle Clean Cities
www.pluginnc.org
Sean Flaherty
sflaherty@tjcog.org
Drive Electric Pennsylvania
Eastern PA – Alliance for Clean Transportation
www.DriveElectricPA.org
Tony Bandiero
tbandiero@ep-act.org
Drive Electric Utah
Utah Clean Cities
www.DriveElectricUtah.org
Tammie Bostick
tammie.bostick@
utahcleancities.org
Virginia EV
Virginia Clean Cities
www.VirginiaEV.org
Matt Wade
mwade@vacleancities.org
Drive Electric Wisconsin
Wisconsin Clean Cities
www.DriveElectricWisconsin.org
Lorrie Lisek
lorrie.lisek@wicleancities.org
Connecticut Initiative
Capitol Clean Cities of Connecticut
www.kentuckycleanfuels.org
Craig Peters
craigpeters82@gmail.com
GO EV IN
Drive Clean Indiana
www.goevin.com
Carl Lisek
clisek@drivecleanindiana.org
New Jersey Initiative
New Jersey Clean Cities
https://njcleancities.org
Chuck Feinberg
chuck.feinberg@gmail.com
Michigan Initiative
Michigan Clean Cities
www.michigancleancities.org
Maggie Striz Calnin
maggie@michigancleancities.org
Drive Electric Minnesota
Great Plains Institute / MN Clean Cities
www.driveelectricmn.org
Lisa Thurstin
lisa.thurstin@lung.org
Oklahoma Initiative
Central Oklahoma Clean Cities
www.okcleancities.org
Eric Pollard
epollard@acogok.org
Drive Electric Washington
Drive Electric Washington
www.driveelectricwa.org
Michael Graham
michael@wwcleancities.org
Wyoming Initiative
Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities
www.ytcleancities.org
Alicia Cox
alicia@ytcleancities.org
Sponsors
Orange EV’s pure-electric terminal trucks are a ‘beachhead’ technology – they can help us expand use of pure EVs in HD applications. Orange EV’s commercially deployed fleet has achieved unparalleled milestones – including uptime performance – in terminal truck operations. As of November 2021, the deployed Orange EV fleet has surpassed 1.1 million hours and 3.7 million miles of operation. The T-Series is meeting the most rigorous duty cycles and 24×7 shift schedules in container handling operations across the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. Visit their website at www.orangeev.com.
Supporters
We appreciate our supporters who share the understanding that we need to work on electrifying transportation in the USA as quickly as we can!

We appreciate the DOE and its Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy for selecting our project and allowing us to build such a collaborative opportunity. We look forward to showing you our achievements and advancements over the coming years!