The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) has announced its inaugural incentive program for zero emission truck and charging deployment.
After a competitive bid process, the NWSA identified Zeem Solutions (Zeem) as the awarded subrecipient. Zeem has a proven track record in deployment of zero emission vehicles and charging infrastructure, but this will be their first deployment in Washington state.
“We are grateful for the partner we have found in Zeem. This transition is a necessary but expensive one, and we need all the partners at the table that we can get. Funding from the Washington State Legislature and their recognition of the importance of decarbonizing ports was key to making this happen and continued investment and partnership will be crucial to future iterations of this program.” said NWSA Co-Chair and Port of Tacoma Commission President John McCarthy. “The absolute scale of the transition for trucks and ports to a zero-emission future is a journey no one entity can do on their own.”
Made possible by a $6.2 million grant from WSDOT, the incentives will collectively bring 19 zero emission trucks and charging to the Puget Sound region. This grant serves as a catalyst for private investment from project participants, with Zeem and its fleet partners contributing a substantial portion of the total project costs.
The Zeem project also includes building out a charging site that will enable 250 vehicles to charge per day, with parking capacity for 70 vehicles overnight. The charging site will be located near the new I-5 exit ramp just south of SeaTac Airport, along SR-99 (International Blvd / Pacific Hwy), convenient for nearby warehouse and distribution centers that see a large volume of truck deliveries.
In addition to serving trucks, the Zeem site will serve other fleets operating light-, medium- and heavy-duty electric commercial vehicles. The charging site will break ground in the Fall of 2025, with the zero emission vehicles expected on the road by 2026.
The program was made possible by Climate Commitment Act funding, Washington’s cap-and-invest program supporting climate, jobs and public health.
This launch of the incentive program and inaugural award follows closely on the heels of the release of the Decarbonizing Drayage Roadmap. The Roadmap, which was released earlier this year, outlines almost 70 recommendations for getting the full drayage fleet into zero emission vehicles by 2050 or sooner.
