Cal EPIC’s new 33,000 square-foot Innovation Hub pairs Capital Charge Yard with EV and energy workforce training programs. 

SACRAMENTO, Calif – August 27, 2026– Cal EPIC (California Energy, Power, and Innovation Collaborative) unveiled the Capital Charge Yard EV charger testing center as part of its Innovation Hub grand opening. The Charge Yard was made possible by a $4 million grant from the California Energy Commission and allows charger and vehicle companies to come together and tackle reliability and interoperability issues currently challenging California’s EV drivers. 

In addition to the reliability and interoperability testing, Cal EPIC’s Innovation Hub will also test vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home energy solutions as part of an R/D focus. The hub’s layout includes 4,000 square feet of office space and 3,500 square feet of manufacturing equipment to accelerate development of new energy and transportation technology development. The hub’s concept encourages early-stage companies to work with industry leaders to scale next generation energy and power solutions that can boost the state’s advanced manufacturing efforts while keeping true to California’s climate commitments. 

“This Innovation Hub gives Sacramento an asset to recruit, retain, and train California’s next generation of clean energy and transportation companies and workers,” said Orville Thomas, CEO of Cal EPIC. “Sacramento will be the center of clean tech innovation, and this hub will align partners under one roof to boost economic impacts in our region and state while focusing on zero-carbon solutions to our energy and power needs.”

“Clean transportation is here to stay. The market has moved, technology has matured, and the vehicles are all over the road,” said Congresswoman Doris Matsui. “This facility is going to train the technicians and the operators that these companies need.”

Initial Innovation Hub partners include Rivian Automotive’s EV Technical Trades program, a $24 per hour paid internship where participants do six months of training and graduate with contract offers to become Level II technicians for the EV automaker. 

The California Energy Commission awarded Cal EPIC $4 million over five years for the Capital Charge Yard program. Advisors to the charge yard include Tesla, Rivian, EVgo, ABB, ChargePoint, Hubject, Veloz, and California utilities among others alongside project partners CharIn North America and the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute.

The Innovation Hub will make office and manufacturing space available as part of membership packages starting in October of this year. Cal EPIC is also developing a battery manufacturing and recycling pilot line and research proposal in Sacramento in partnership with Sacramento State University. This second phase of the Innovation Hub is currently being requested by local elected officials as part of California’s climate spending strategy and details, and news, will be announced in the months ahead.