FreeWire Boost 2.0 Development and Demonstration Project
FreeWire Technologies, Inc.
Recipient
Newark, CA
Recipient Location
10th
Senate District
24th
Assembly District
$860,883
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
In 2024, FreeWire was acquired by SpeedCharge LLC and was reconstituted as OptiGrid LLC. At the end of 2024, OptiGrid was actively conducting negotiations with the CEC to amend the original agreement with Freewire to account for the reorganization, including a reassignment of the award to OptiGrid. Freewire's core innovation of a battery-integrated DC fast charger remains the same, but the project is expected to pivot towards focusing on medium- and heavy-duty applications such as port operations.
In 2025, the CEC approved the change in the agreement’s recipient from FreeWire to OptiGrid, along with scope changes to shift the focus from light-duty vehicle charging at public facilities to medium- and heavy-duty (MHDV) vehicle charging at private fleet facilities. The project's core innovation of a battery-integrated DC fast charger remains the same, but the project is expected to pivot towards focusing on electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (MHDV) applications such as port operations and fleet depots. Project activities resumed in full in September 2025, and most of the work for the rest of the year revolved around selecting new demonstration site(s) and reengineering the battery-backed charging system to meet the needs of the project’s new primary end user (warehouse MHDV fleets).
The Issue
Demand for electric vehicles, especially MHDVs, is rising quickly, and the CEC estimates California will need about 109,000 depot chargers and 5,500 highway chargers by 2030. To achieve this goal, 440 chargers will need to be installed per week starting in 2025. However, building this charging infrastructure is slowed by the need to upgrade the electrical grid, and the current pace of upgrades will not support the number of chargers required. These upgrades are also expensive, and costs will ultimately be passed on to electricity customers. At the same time, EV charging reliability and grid stability are growing concerns, as fast chargers create short but very high power demands that are difficult for utilities to manage. Programs that seek to address these issues by limiting charging during peak demand can help the grid but create uncertainty for drivers and fleet operators who depend upon reliable charging. New solutions are needed that allow chargers to be deployed more quickly, reduce the need for major grid upgrades, and provide reliable power for charging sites.
Project Innovation
This project seeks to design, develop, and deploy a battery-integrated DC fast charger (OptiGrid Gen 1), primarily for electric terminal tractors, that stores energy during off-peak hours and uses it to power charging later. This reduces peak electricity demand, lowers the need for expensive grid upgrades, and reduces electricity costs for charging sites. The Gen 1 charger uses a modular, turnkey design that simplifies permitting, planning, and deployment, allowing charging stations to be installed and begin operating more quickly while improving reliability for site hosts and fleet operators. The system can also provide additional reliability benefits, such as sending power back to the grid, supporting microgrids, and helping sites manage renewable energy and maintain power during outages.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
Executive Order B-16-2012 called upon state agencies to support benchmarks to ensure that Californians have easy access to ZEV infrastructure by 2025, and Executive Order B-48-18 set targets of 250,000 electric vehicle chargers to support 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road in California by 2025, and 5 million by 2030. Direct current fast charging deployment is significantly constrained by site installation costs and site hosts are concerned about reliability. The project will greatly reduce the installation and operational cost for DC fast chargers by minimizing utility upgrade requirements and demand impact. It will also provide a resilience solution to improve reliability for site hosts and fleet operators.
Reliability
The project will improve reliability for both charging sites and the electric grid by using EV chargers with built-in batteries. These batteries allow chargers to begin operating sooner with limited grid power while also reducing peak electricity demand, which helps utilities manage the grid more reliably.
Affordability
The system lowers costs by charging its battery during off-peak hours and limiting grid power use during peak times, which reduces utility demand charges for the site host. It also reduces the need for expensive grid upgrades, potentially saving tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per site and lowering costs that might otherwise be passed on to utility ratepayers.
Safety
The project will improve safety by completing UL certification for the DC fast charger design and ensuring all future units meet the required safety and performance standards.
