New Hampshire officials launched a 1 million dollar grant program on Tuesday aimed at expanding the state’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure, targeting travel and tourism corridors to bolster local economies and air quality.
The Recharge the Adventure New Hampshire Grant Program is being administered jointly by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the Department of Business and Economic Affairs. State leaders hope the funding will close a gap in charging availability that has lagged behind neighboring states.
“Installing public charging infrastructure at travel- and tourism-oriented locations will support the local economies of New Hampshire communities and enable EV-driving residents and visitors to feel confident in exploring all that New Hampshire has to offer,” Business and Economic Affairs Commissioner Lucy Lange said in a press release.
Tourism Focus and Funding Structure
The grant initiative will cover up to 80 percent of project costs for installing level two, or L2, electric vehicle chargers, with a maximum payout of $10,000 per charging port. To ensure broad geographic distribution, state officials established a cap of $100,000 for projects within any single municipality and a minimum allocation of $40,000 for each of the state’s nine Regional Planning Commission zones.
Public, private and nonprofit entities are all eligible to apply for the funding. The money originates from the New Hampshire Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, which holds settlement funds stemming from a Clean Air Act lawsuit against Volkswagen AG and its affiliates.
This is not the first grant cycle using Volkswagen trust dollars. A previous round in 2021 dispensed approximately $4 million toward EV charging installations on state- and local-government-owned properties.
Regional Disparities and Economic Stakes
The push comes in response to documented shortages in public charging options across the Granite State. A February 2025 report published by Clean Energy New Hampshire and SKI NH revealed that New Hampshire possessed just 597 charging ports, representing roughly 5 percent of the total electric vehicle infrastructure available across the entire New England region.
That same study warned that the lack of accessible chargers was costing New Hampshire millions of dollars in tourism revenue.
“Investing in the buildout of public charging infrastructure in the Granite State not only benefits our EV-driving residents and visitors but also results in positive impacts to both New Hampshire’s economy and air quality,” Department of Environmental Services Commissioner Robert Scott said.
Legal Context and Next Steps
The rollout of the new charging grants coincides with separate environmental legal battles in the state. New Hampshire is currently facing its own Clean Air Act lawsuit following a 2025 legislative decision to terminate vehicle inspections and emissions testing.
The Recharge the Adventure New Hampshire Grant Program is open to public, private, and nonprofit entities.
