Dive Brief:
- Zeem Solutions will build an electric vehicle charging facility in SeaTac, Washington, as part of a $5.12 million grant from the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), according to a July 9 press release.
- The site can charge 250 vehicles per day and has the parking capacity to accommodate 70 vehicles overnight. Construction is expected to begin fall 2025, according to the port. Trucks such as light-, medium- and heavy-duty electric commercial vehicles will be able to use Zeem’s SeaTac depot.
- Located near the new I-5 exit ramp just south of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the site is expected to enable local truck fleet operators to provide zero-emission freight deliveries as they haul containers from the ports of Seattle and Tacoma to inland warehouses.
Dive Insight:
The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s grant aims to offset the high purchase cost of electric Class 8 drayage trucks. The port had received funding for its grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation and identified Zeem as a subrecipient.
“Nearly 4,000 short-haul trucks serve the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, traveling to nearby distribution centers and warehouses,” Zeem said in the press release. “[T]ruck fleet 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.”
As part of the grant, six local fleet operators will be able to purchase electric trucks at a more affordable rate, Zeem said. The fleets will charge and domicile the trucks at Zeem’s SeaTac depot.
While Zeem and its fleet partners are absorbing a substantial portion of the total project costs, the company is partnering with local drayage providers to reduce the impact of the new trucks on the local SeaTac driver community, according to the port.
The port’s sustainability efforts follow its Decarbonizing Drayage Roadmap to 2050, which was announced in April. The roadmap outlines about 70 recommendations to guide the transition to zero-emission drayage trucks in the Puget Sound region.
