Fleet Electrification accelerator

Transitioning to an electric fleet takes time—including up to 24 months for utility upgrades. If you plan to transition your vehicles in the upcoming years, now is the time to begin planning. When you are ready to start purchases or infrastructure changes you'll have a working plan in place.

The person(s) responsible for creating your organization’s fleet electrification plan—whether that is your sustainability manager, fleet manager, or operations manager—should be the primary participant(s), attend all sessions, and complete the weekly assignments. Each organization may enroll up to four participants, though this is not required, and we strongly encourage at least two participants.

We have experience working with fleets from just a handful of vehicles to several thousand. We encourage larger fleets to focus on a subset of their vehicles during the Accelerator and then apply their learnings across the larger fleet. Generally, participants have at least ten vehicles in their fleet, but we encourage interested individuals with smaller fleets to reach out to us to discuss whether they’d be a fit. Businesses with fleets of 10 or fewer vehicles may also want to look into our Small Business EV Launchpad, which is tailored for small fleets.

The goal of the Accelerator is to provide the learning and support for your organization to create an actionable fleet electrification plan. Ideally, this will require a meaningful time investment (several hours per week) from your fleet manager and/or sustainability manager and others in your organization. The specific time involvement for a successful participant will vary depending on fleet size, complexity, and information availability.

Like many things, the more you put into this program, the more you get out of it; for example, we often hear from graduates that the networking and relationship-building components of the Accelerator were among its most valuable offerings.

Specific commitments include:  

• The person(s) responsible for creating your organization’s fleet electrification plan, and optionally up to four total staff members, attend the weekly 90-minute online sessions and the two-day in-person session in Seattle.  

• Commitment to create a fleet electrification plan, business case, and presentation during the program. This will require work in between sessions.  

• Executive sponsor—a senior leader with budget and decision-making responsibilities related to fleet electrification.

Yes. Past Accelerator graduates have begun the program at many different stages in the process, from those with no knowledge or experience to those who have already purchased several vehicles and chargers. 90% of all graduates say they are further along in the fleet electrification than if they hadn’t participated in the Accelerator, regardless of how far along they were before enrolling. If you are unsure, we encourage you to reach out to discuss where you are in your process and whether the Accelerator will be a fit.

If you’re currently considering hiring a consultant, or have hired one and are in the early stages of the engagement, this program can help you ask the right questions and confidently manage and collaborate with the consultant.

If you have already worked with the consultant to develop a full plan and are now executing on it, you’re unlikely to benefit as much from this program.

We encourage you to reach out to us to discuss your unique circumstances, so we can provide a recommendation specific to you. Generally, we’ve heard from past participants who were already working with consultants that they still benefited from the program and were glad to have participated.

The Fleet Electrification Accelerator is primarily designed for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. That said, we do accept public sector organizations and a number have participated in past cohorts. We hear from Accelerator graduates that they value working with peers across sectors, and that this has enhanced their experience.

The cohort is limited to 25 organizations. This allows us to provide the 1:1 coaching that is a key component of the Accelerator and gives participants the opportunity to get to know and support each other throughout the program. We aim to have a diverse group of organizations from across Washington and Oregon, including BIPOC-owned businesses.

Organizations will have a significant portion of their fleet’s operating footprint in Washington and/or Oregon. We encourage companies from across Washington and Oregon to enroll.

There is a one-time fee of $950 for fleets of 1-24, $2,250 for fleets of 25-499, and $3,250 for fleets of 500+ per organization to help offset a small portion of the Accelerator’s operating costs. 

Financial assistance is available for businesses that require it. For more information, please reach out.