The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is launching $45 million in incentive programs aimed at helping drayage fleets and terminal operators put more electric trucks, yard tractors, and charging infrastructure into service.

Beginning this fall, Calstart will administer two zero-emission incentives programs at the ports: the Clean Truck Incentive Program and the Green Drayage Accelerator.

The Clean Truck Incentive Program will provide up to $39 million in point-of-sale vouchers toward the purchase of zero-emission drayage trucks, yard tractors, and charging equipment.

A separate $5 million Green Drayage Accelerator program will support as many as five electric-truck charging hubs located within 10 miles of Port Authority seaport or marine terminal facilities.

Addressing Hurdles to Electric-Truck Drayage

The programs are intended to address two of the biggest barriers to deploying battery-electric trucks in drayage operations: the higher upfront cost of the vehicles and access to charging.

“Drayage operators are the backbone of this port, keeping freight moving day and night from our terminals to warehouses and businesses across the region,” said Port Authority Port Director Bethann Rooney.

“We know that any shift towards cleaner operations must happen through real support and partnership, rather than top-down mandates,” she said.

“We’re making zero-emission trucks and terminal tractors more affordable for the operators who keep this port running, backed by the charging infrastructure they'll need to power them.”

Incentives Pair Trucks With Charging

Calstart Executive Vice President Alycia Gilde said deploying zero-emission trucks at scale requires pairing vehicle incentives with reliable, high-capacity charging.

Calstart also will develop tracking dashboards for the programs to monitor vehicle deployments, vehicle performance, and charger use. The dashboards are expected to be transferred to the Port Authority in 2028.

The Port Authority and Calstart plan to reach out to the trucking community through in-person and online presentations in the coming weeks.

EPA Clean Ports Grant Funds Programs

The programs are being funded through a $451 million grant the Port Authority received through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Program.

That broader grant also will support electric cargo-handling equipment at marine terminals and shore-power infrastructure that will allow container ships to plug into the electrical grid while docked rather than running auxiliary engines.

The Port Authority has set a goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and is encouraging trucking companies, terminal operators, ocean carriers and other businesses serving the port to work toward the same target.

The agency already operates a Truck Replacement Program that provides financial incentives for trucking companies replacing older trucks with cleaner models.

It also opened an electric-truck charging site at Port Newark in 2025 with four high-power chargers at the truck welcome center.

According to the Port Authority’s 2024 air emissions inventory, sulfur dioxide emissions at the seaport have fallen 98% from 2006 levels, while nitrogen oxide and particulate-matter emissions have declined more than 83%, even as cargo volume increased nearly 71%.