The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Hawaii nearly $7 million to improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure statewide, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz announced.

The $6.9 million grant comes from the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator program under the Department of Transportation. Funding will be used to repair or replace nonoperational electric vehicle chargers to “improve the reliability of existing charging infrastructure,” a Friday news release said.

“This new federal funding will make EV charging more reliable and accessible for Hawaii families, and help the state of Hawaii achieve its ambitious goals for building a clean economy,” Schatz said in the release.

Schatz is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.