WattEV says it has secured $40.5 million in grants to expand its network of electric truck stops into northern California and Oregon: one grant for a solar-powered truck charging depot across Interstate 5 from the airfreight hub adjacent to Sacramento International Airport (SMF), and another for a grid-connected charging depot along Interstate 5 in Salem, Ore.
A $34 million federal grant through the California Transportation Commission will be used to build and operate what will become the nation’s largest electric charging depot. The SMF project is expected to open in mid- to late-2025, with 15.6 MW of solar power supplemented by 7.2 MW of grid power supplied by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.
The SMF depot will have 30 DC fast chargers for passenger vehicles, 90 high-power CCS-1 cords for medium- and heavy-duty commercial electric vehicles, and 18 MW cords for pass-through charging of HD trucks using the upcoming Megawatt Charging Standard (MCS).
“We’re proud to partner with WattEV as they continue to advance transition of U.S. trucking transport to zero emissions,” says Cindy Nichol, director of the Sacramento County Department of Airports. “Sacramento International Airport’s proximity to one of largest goods distribution centers in the state makes this an ideal location to serve California’s ‘electric highway.'”
WattEV was also awarded $6.5 million from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to build a six-acre EV charging depot. The Salem, Ore., site will be grid-connected in cooperation with Portland General Electric.
Planning for the Salem electric truck stop includes 30 CCS 240 kW chargers and six MCS 1200 kW chargers. It is expected to open in 2025 as well.
“These grant awards will allow us to meet our plans to expand our network of electric-truck charging depots from the Mexican border to Portland, Ore., via Interstate 5, on what government planners and industry stakeholders are calling the ‘electric highway,'” says WattEV co-founder and CEO Salim Youssefzadeh.