Zero-emission trucks traveling trade corridors in the South Coast region will soon have more opportunities to refuel, thanks to a project with the MSRC, the California Energy Commission (CEC), Caltrans, and other project partners. These agencies are all partnering on the West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project, a three-state, border-to-border, zero-emission refueling infrastructure program focused on constructing EV charging and hydrogen refueling stations for medium and heavy-duty trucks along 2,500 miles of key freight corridors, including Interstate 5 (see map). California is managing this project on behalf of all three states.
The MSRC’s $6 million in Clean Transportation Funding for this project will be directed to facilities constructed along major goods movement corridors within the South Coast Air District. The MSRC’s funding will go toward developing a minimum of two publicly accessible charging facilities with multiple charging units that will provide an anticipated 1 MW in charging capacity at each location. Fueling infrastructure is expected to be installed by 2028.
The MSRC, CEC, and Caltrans submitted a joint application for the multi-state West Coast Project to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Charging and Infrastructure Grant Program. U.S. DOT awarded $102 million to the project in August. The funding comes from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
Although trucks account for 6 percent of the vehicles on California’s roadways, they contribute to 35 percent of the smog-causing NOx and a quarter of the on-road greenhouse gases in the state. This project is designed to reduce air pollution that disproportionately harms frontline communities that live along trucking corridors and near warehouses.