The Northwest Seaport Alliance has announced the recipients of its inaugural incentive program for zero emission drayage trucks – and they’ve turned to the logistics experts at Zeem to deploy 19 battery electric semi trucks to serve the Seattle-Tacoma gateway.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance incentive program is funded by a $6.2 million grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), and will see bring 19 zero emission Class 8 semi trucks (like the Kenworth T680, shown) and their associated charging infrastructure to the Puget Sound region.
“We are thankful to the Northwest Seaport Alliance for helping the region adopt electric trucks, and we invite truck operators to experience how well they are matched to the job of hauling drayage,” says Paul Gioupis, CEO of Zeem Solutions. “We have served truck fleets for several years, and our goal is to make it a compelling business decision for fleets, that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.”
19 trucks, hundreds of charging customers
In a bid to help make electrification an even more compelling option for PNW truck fleets, the new Zeem facility won’t just serve its fleet of 19 electric semi trucks – the project also includes a charging depot that will be able to serve up to 250 electric vehicles per day, with overnight parking capacity for up to 70 vehicles, including heavy-, medium-, and light-duty vehicles.
“Nearly 4,000 short-haul trucks serve the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, traveling to nearby distribution centers and warehouses,” reads the official press release. “… operators will be able to switch to electric trucks and charging without the large amount of upfront capital typically needed for heavy-duty EVs and charging infrastructure.”
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.
Electrek’s Take
Drayage trucks are typically heavy-duty Class 8 trucks that work short haul routes from ports to warehouses or loading facilities. They frequently travel back and forth along local roadways, meaning they have a high impact on air quality in a given area. And, depending on who you believe, truck emissions represent about 6% of all seaport-related diesel pollution and about 30% of all seaport-related climate pollution in the Puget Sound region – emissions that disproportionately impact communities living near port operations and along freight corridors.
As such: more electric drayage is more good news.
We had a chance to talk to Zeem CEO, Paul Gioupis, as one of our guests on Quick Charge last summer, and a lot of that discussion is still relevant today. Give it a listen (above), then let us know what you think of all this in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Zeem Solutions.
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