6 projects to split $6.75 million through SCAG’s Last-Mile Freight Program to help electrify truck fleets and reduce emissions

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is awarding grants totaling $6.75 million to six projects across the region designed to promote clean transportation and reduce harmful emissions during last-mile freight and delivery operations.

The six are in addition to 26 clean-energy projects that were awarded a total of $10 million late last year under SCAG’s Last-Mile Freight Program,  funded through the state’s Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC). The program is designed to encourage investment in zero- and near-zero emission trucks and other technologies that will support the region’s clean-air goals.

Grant funding for the six additional projects was supported by MSRC and SCAG’s Regional Council, and formally approved by the South Coast Air Quality Management District on Friday.

“These projects are a critical early step in our efforts to improve infrastructure in one of the busiest supply chain corridors in the United States. The surge in e-commerce since the start of the pandemic has put an even sharper focus on the need to develop and implement innovative technologies within our commercial truck fleets,” said Clint Lorimore, SCAG’s President and Mayor of Eastvale.

The awardees are:

WattEV, $1.192 million to fund electric trucks and infrastructure – part of the company’s goal to get 12,000 electric-transport vehicles on the road in California by 2030.

Sysco Corp., $1.192 million for its Good to the Last Dropoff – Zero-Emission Last-Mile Freight Initiative.

Penske Logistics LLC, $790,786 to accelerate the electrification of its last-mile freight operations.

Gonzalez Logistics Inc., $1.192 million to help fund the electrification of 50 vehicles.

Pepsico, $1.192 million to help fund the electrification of transport vehicles through its partnership with New Bern Transport.

Zeem Solutions, $1.192 million to expand access to electrified vehicles for small-fleet operators.

SCAG received 40 applications after its initial Call for Projects was opened in May of last year. A panel of representatives from SCAG, the California Energy Commission and the California Air Resources Board then ranked the projects based on Last-Mile Freight Program guidelines.

The grant awards are part of a multi-year effort by SCAG to address the community impacts of increased truck deliveries. In 2020, SCAG released results of a Last-Mile Freight Study, which projected that the parcel delivery market will double by 2025.