When we spoke with TeraWatt Infrastructure CEO Neha Palmer back in 2021, we were impressed by her company’s comprehensive approach. Charging hubs for fleet vehicles need to incorporate not only charging stations, but energy management systems, and possibly energy storage and on-site generation. Charging providers need to work closely with local electrical utilities, and they need to be involved in financing, project development and whatever else it takes to ease fleet operators’ transitions to EVs.

Now the company has taken a big step toward realizing its vision—it recently raised more than $1 billion in institutional capital, which it will use to develop a network of charging centers for heavy-duty and medium-duty electric trucks along I-10 from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to El Paso.

The I-10 Electric Corridor will consist of multiple TeraWatt Charging Centers in California, Arizona and New Mexico. Each will feature “dozens” of high-power DC fast chargers, pull-through charging stalls and on-site driver amenities. The sites will be available both to long-haul truckers and local, last-mile delivery operations.

The Charging Centers will be located approximately 150 miles apart, a distance that supports the range of currently available electric trucks. Each site is located less than one mile from the nearest highway exit, and they range in size between 4 and 100 acres.

TeraWatt will manage all charging operations at the sites, and will incorporate advanced technology such as battery storage, on-site renewable energy generation and megawatt charging stations “as commercially appropriate. The company will partner with local and state governments and utilities, and take advantage of whatever grants and incentives are available.

“Long-haul trucking electrification represents a significant opportunity to reduce transportation sector emissions, but hinges on the rapid scale-up of specialized charging infrastructure,” says CEO Neha Palmer. “Our real estate and energy infrastructure development platform uniquely positions TeraWatt to solve the ‘charging problem’ for trucking operators, making freight electrification achievable within their operations. There will have to be a lot of collaboration between stakeholders, including grid owners, operators, utilities, regulators and end users, to ensure that the grid can evolve alongside the shift to electric transportation.”

Sources: TeraWatt Infrastructure, CleanTechnica