WattEV and the Port of Long Beach announced plans to build a charging plaza for heavy-duty electric trucks inside the port complex.

“This project is an exciting opportunity in WattEV’s near-term plans to build an electric-truck charging ‘highway’ from the Port of Long Beach to Sacramento by the end of 2023,” said Salim Youssefzadeh, chief executive officer of WattEV in a news release. The news was announced during the annual Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo at the Long Beach Convention Center.

WattEV’s POLB e-truck charging plaza will feature 26 charging bays using Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors to provide power at up to 360 kilowatts. The CCS system is the current charging standard for heavy-duty e-trucks, while faster charging systems are under development. Eight more e-truck bays are planned at the POLB charging plaza, featuring the faster Megawatt Charging System (MCS), rated for charging at up to 1.2 megawatts. 

The charging facility will serve WattEV’s fleet of electric trucks, which it operates as a truck-as-a-service model, as well other carriers committed to electrifying trucking operations to and from the combined ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Combined, the two ports receive some 40% of the nation’s imported goods. They have 20,000 trucks in their registries using internal-combustion engines, more than 25% of which are older than 10 years. Both ports have been setting clean air goals for nearly two decades.

“WattEV’s electric charging facility at the Port of Long Beach would be a major step towards encouraging transporters to transition to zero-emission trucking,” added Youssefzadeh. “This charging station represents the southern anchor of our ‘Electric Highway,’ serving heavy transport corridors in Southern California as well as northbound freight through the San Joaquin Valley. Sacramento is the northern anchor for our infrastructure development. We’re planning two more e-truck charging plazas between there and Long Beach."

"WattEV’s charging plaza – located on Pier A Way in one of the port’s main area of operations – would serve as visible testimony to the Port of Long Beach’s commitment to electric mobility and clean air," said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “Our Clean Air Action Plan calls for bold, aggressive measures to reduce port emissions and their impact on neighboring communities without sacrificing economic efficiency and jobs. Our quest is not about ‘reducing’ emissions, but about ‘eliminating’ emissions. Projects such as this are an important part of the Port of Long Beach achieving its clean-air goals and honors our commitment to be a good neighbor and environmental steward.”