Megawatt charging depots to this point are behind-the-fence operations exclusive to the fleets that operate them. Truck-as-a-Service (TaaS) startup WattEV changes that when it opens its first charging-for-all installation on the Port of Long Beach.
“Loads of competitors have been talking about infrastructure, but we even have equipment in the bottom,” Salim Youssefzadeh, WattEV founder and CEO, told FreightWaves ahead of opening its first public changing depot Monday on the Port of Long Beach.
“We now have other sites opening this 12 months after which a variety of other sites that we have now under contract that we haven’t even announced that takes us all the best way as much as the Sacramento area.”
WattEV announced a site in Bakersfield, California, in late 2021. The operation is predicated on a pony express, through which an electrical truck driver could bring a truck needing a charge to the WattEV facility and swap it for a completely charged truck to finish its route. The concept is straightforward. Specifics are more complicated.
“We are able to operate on a relay basis depending on the variety of trucks that a TaaS customer has,” Youssefzadeh said. “As an example, if I actually have a route that goes from Long Beach to Hesperia and I actually have a charging station on that site, then I can do one truck there and one truck in LA after which just swap them as I keep going.”
Leveraging grant money
WattEV has acquired its first trucks, Nikola Tre battery electric models able to as much as 300 miles between charges. It has received greater than $20 million in grants for the trucks and its infrastructure with more expected. A Series A fundraising round expected to shut in June 2022 is delayed.
“We’ll make an announcement fairly soon on that,” Youssefzadeh said. “We now have backing from each institutional in addition to traditional VC investors.”
The corporate is awaiting delivery of fifty Volvo VNR Electric models it ordered with grants from the California Air Resources Board. Each of the trucks qualified for a $168,000 voucher through the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project.
WattEV has achieved quite a bit given a scarcity of resources like competitors Forum Mobility, Voltera and TeraWatt have received. The startup had a coming out party on the 2022 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach when the port charging facility was announced.
First WattEV project up and running in 14 months
“Long Beach was actually the last of the 4 that we announced, however it was the primary to go live,” Youssefzadeh said. “It’s really the persistence that we had coordinating the Port of Long Beach, Southern California Edison, in addition to really managing the lead times on switchgear and all the opposite equipment.”
Long Beach had a couple of benefits that helped WattEV complete its project in only 14 months, practically unheard of speed in getting a large-scale facility accomplished.
“It helps that power was already available in Long Beach,” Youssefzadeh said. “In some cases, that is probably not true. There could also be sites that you simply come upon that don’t have the ability available instantly or that need to undergo upgrades, which might take years.”
Those delays are a drag on heavy-duty electric truck deliveries. Fleets might want the trucks but they don’t wish to allow them to sit while waiting for reliable charging. WattEV expects depots in Gardena, San Bernardino and Bakersfield to open within the late fourth quarter this 12 months.
WattEV is opening Long Beach with 5 megawatts of charging, able to simultaneous charging of 26 trucks at 180 kilowatts. The positioning eventually can have about 8 MW of power and stored energy to even out charging needs at peak times.
Behind-the-fence installations
Schneider opened a personal charging facility in June at its South El Monte Operations Center, able to charging 32 trucks at one time, It distributes 4.8 megawatts through 4 1.2 MW power stations. Sixteen 350-kW dual-corded dispensers operate at 175 kW, achieving an 80% charge inside 90 minutes.
NFI Industries is in the ultimate stages of constructing an analogous facility in Ontario that may allow the corporate to convert its entire drayage fleet to battery-electric power. Delays in getting switchgear has delayed the power’s opening.
“The Schneiders and NFIs are constructing chargers behind the fence for their very own fleets, but that isn’t to say that they won’t have to charge elsewhere, as well,” Youssefzadeh said. “They will only go to this point with the return-to-base operation. Having public infrastructure remains to be needed to increase their range and extend the radius to where they’re traveling to.”
WattEV maps out multiple charging options
WattEV sees several ways of engaging customers that need charging.
“We’re actually seeing a brand new customer present itself now that we have now actual sites operational,” Youssefzadeh said. “These are the kind of customers which have bought trucks but don’t have places to charge. They’re asking if they may are available in and domicile at our facilities and operate in an off-take agreement.”
WattEV also is working a couple of trucks by itself and in a pilot with Uber Freight to see whether zero-tailpipe-emission vehicles make sense for 3PLs.
“In the event you take a look at more of the middle-mile sector, we see the transition to electrification really starting on the shipper side where the shippers have sustainability goals or mandates that’s forcing them to transition,” Youssefzadeh said. “Then, they’re pushing more of the carriers to start out adopting those.”
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