WattEV to Build Truck Charging Depots in Northern California & Oregon Along 'Electric Highway'

WattEV, a US leader in heavy-duty freight electrification, has secured $40.5 million in grants to expand its growing network of electric truck stops into Northern California and Oregon. The annoucement follows the opening the largest public charging depot in the US for electric commercial trucks at the Port of Long Beach.

WattEV has secured a $34 million federal grant through the California Transportation Commission to build and operate an electric charging depot on more than 100 acres of land south of Sacramento International Airport (SMF).

The SMF project is expected to open in mid- to late-2025 and will have 30 DC fast chargers for passenger vehicles.

WattEV was also awarded $6.5 million from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to build a 6-acre EV charging depot.

WattEV co-founder and CEO, Salim Youssefzadeh, says: "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, Oregon, via Interstate 5, on what government planners and industry stakeholders are calling the 'electric highway. We're building out the West Coast corridor while also reaching eastward along the I-10 toward Arizona and Texas and, eventually, to the East Coast. To expand the WattEV network, we'll match our grants with private capital to fund this massive infrastructure buildout."

"We're proud to partner with WattEV as they continue to advance transition of U.S. trucking transport to zero emissions," adds Cindy Nichol, Director of 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's goal is to get 12,000 heavy-duty electric trucks on California roads by the end of 2030.