LETF Round 2: Adoption of Public Charging Infrastructure

Round 2 investment focus

This funding round sought proposals for public EV charging infrastructure such as hyper power chargers and destination chargers to support and accelerate wider deployment and market uptake of electric vehicles as a key part of New Zealand’s move to low emission transport.

$4.0 million will be available in the 2021-22 financial year for public charging infrastructure projects. This will be available in up to two funding rounds in this period.

Round 2 closed on 3 November 2021. New funding rounds will open in mid-2022.

Successful applicants to Round 2 were announced on 24 February 2022.

Read the Minister's Round 2 announcement

Watch our webinar to learn more

Watch the webinar(external link)

Read the webinar presentation [PDF, 2.2 MB]

Read the webinar Q&A [PDF, 151 KB]

Round 2 objectives

This round's focus is on two areas:

Public chargers in identified charging infrastructure gaps and locations, to future-proof for an expected increase in demand. To minimise queueing and stay ahead of EV uptake, multi-head chargers at higher speeds will be prioritised.
Public chargers of 25kW DC minimum for community or neighbourhood charging, both individual or a network where users will spend between 30 minutes and 2 hours.

These projects should:

Support EV uptake and provide consumers with confidence in the availability of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Ensure charging infrastructure standards such as interoperability, connectivity and energy efficiency are adequately met.
Provide the government and industry with information and guidance to better inform planning and optimal investment.
Encourage new entrants and competition for provision of charging infrastructure and service providers.
Enable innovation in new technology and business models.

Note, charging projects must be a minimum of $50,000 in total core project costs to qualify. Find more information on this in the RFP document.

Recipients will be required to share knowledge, reporting and data with EECA as part of the Funding Agreement which will set out how, when and with whom it will be shared.

Application documents

These documents are for reference only. Round 2 closed on 3 November 2021.

Key documents

Request for Proposals [PDF, 631 KB]

Response form [DOCX, 696 KB]

Proposed Funding Agreement [PDF, 245 KB]

Frequently Asked Questions [PDF, 421 KB]

Recipient's Guide [PDF, 465 KB]

Email LETFund@eeca.govt.nz with any questions.

FAQs

What's the application process?

There are generally up to two funding rounds per year for each investment focus area. Applicants have approximately four weeks to submit proposals after the funding round opens. Applications are assessed by a panel against the fund objectives and investment focus, the applicant’s ability to deliver, and the project’s value for money.

The assessment panel makes recommendations to EECA to make a final decision. The application process takes around four months.

Recipients will be required to share knowledge, reporting and data with EECA as part of the Funding Agreement which will set out how, when and with whom it will be shared.

All projects must follow the investment principles and meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Request for Proposals.

How much can I apply for?

Who can apply?

This funding round is open to all New Zealand-based and New Zealand-registered legal entities except Public Service Departments, Non-Public Service Departments (such as the New Zealand Defence Force), and Statutory Crown Entities such as District Health Boards.

The following types of organisations are eligible to submit proposals:

State-owned Enterprises
Local Councils
Regional Councils.

Proposals must be for projects delivered in New Zealand, however overseas-based project partners may be involved.

When would I receive co-funding?

What is excluded

The overall Low Emission Transport Fund (LETF) exclusions apply to this round, along with the exclusions included in the RFP document.

LETF exclusions

In addition to these, projects that involve biofuels, marine vessels, aviation and other classes of off-road vehicles are excluded in this round and will be explored in future funding rounds — get in touch with us to discuss any project ideas involving these areas.

Things to note

Private charging infrastructure and projects which are largely for the benefit of a private entity or only provide limited public access are excluded.
Chargers are expected to be interoperable. AC chargers are ineligible unless a key part of a technology solution.

Key dates

RFP released	9am Wednesday 6 October 2021
Deadline for questions	4pm Wednesday 27 October 2021
Deadline for proposals	12pm Wednesday 3 November 2021
Decision announced	From mid-February 2022

Get in touch

We're happy to discuss your project ideas and answer any questions you may have. For any enquiries, contact EECA at LETFund@eeca.govt.nz.