The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) has awarded Zeem Solutions its first zero-emission truck and charging deployment contract, marking the beginning of a broader incentive program to electrify drayage operations across the Seattle-Tacoma gateway.
Funded by a $6.2-million Washington State Department of Transportation grant, the project will bring 19 zero-emission trucks to the Puget Sound region and launch construction of a commercial charging hub south of SeaTac Airport, according to a news release. This grant serves as a catalyst for private investment from project participants, with Zeem and its fleet partners contributing ‘a substantial portion’ of the total project costs.
The Zeem project also includes building out a charging site that will enable 250 vehicles to charge per day, with parking capacity for 70 vehicles overnight. The charging site will break ground in the fall of 2025, and trucks are expected to enter service in 2026.
Zeem and its fleet partners are contributing additional private investment toward the project. The charging hub—located along SR-99 near the new I-5 exit—will serve not just drayage carriers but a broader range of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty electric commercial vehicles serving nearby distribution centres, according to the release.
WSDOT’s Rail, Freight and Ports director Jason Biggs called the project “key to meeting the state’s climate commitment goals,” adding that collaboration with the NWSA is critical to advancing zero-emission freight.
“We are thankful to the Northwest Seaport Alliance for helping the region adopt electric trucks,” said Zeem CEO Paul Gioupis. “Our goal is to make it a compelling business decision for fleets, that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.”
The NWSA and its partners hope this initial deployment sets the stage for broader investment and scaled adoption of zero-emission port trucking in the years ahead.
“This transition is a necessary but expensive one,” said Port of Tacoma commission president John McCarthy, also co-chair of NWSA. “We need all the partners at the table that we can get…The absolute scale of the transition for trucks and ports to a zero-emission future is a journey no one entity can do on their own.”
The incentive program builds on the recommendations of the recently released Decarbonizing Drayage Roadmap, developed by the Puget Sound Zero Emission Truck Collaborative. The group brought together government, industry, and community stakeholders to chart a just and equitable transition to ZEVs.
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