Sacramento Snags $4M to Launch Capital Charge Yard EV Lab

The new facility will test EV charger interoperability and reliability before public deployment.

Published on Feb. 5, 2026

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The California Energy Commission has awarded $4 million to local nonprofit Cal EPIC to build the Capital Charge Yard, a new public EV charger testing and interoperability lab in Sacramento. The facility is designed to give automakers, charger manufacturers, and utilities a place to verify charger compatibility and reliability before equipment is installed on public networks, helping to reduce the glitches that can leave drivers stuck at broken or incompatible charging stations.

Why it matters

One of the most frustrating parts of the EV experience is dealing with chargers that are incompatible with certain vehicles. The new Capital Charge Yard aims to address this issue by providing a controlled testing environment where manufacturers can validate their equipment before it reaches consumers, which could help improve the overall reliability and user experience of public EV charging infrastructure.

The details

The Capital Charge Yard will mix lab-style conformance testing and outdoor, real-world demonstrations to identify and fix interoperability issues. It will host structured interoperability testing, conformance validation, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) experiments, running repeatable test cases to check how different vehicles and chargers interact. Cal EPIC will lead the project's development and coordination, while CharIN will organize the interoperability events. The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) will provide technical expertise, and Momentum will support long-term operations.

  • The initial CEC funding runs through 2030.
  • The Capital Charge Yard is tentatively slated to open later this year.

The players

Cal EPIC

A local nonprofit that will lead the overall development and coordination of the Capital Charge Yard project.

CharIN

An organization that will organize the interoperability events and testing at the Capital Charge Yard.

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI)

A research institute that will provide technical expertise and planning for the project.

Momentum

A company that will support the long-term operations of the Capital Charge Yard.

SMUD

A utility that is listed as an industry supporter of the Capital Charge Yard project.

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What they’re saying

“Sacramento will help drive EV charger policy and research and development, while ensuring that chargers work reliably when drivers plug in.”

— Orville Thomas, CEO, Cal EPIC

What’s next

The initial CEC funding runs through 2030, and the Capital Charge Yard is tentatively slated to open later this year with 'testival' style interoperability events and public demos on the calendar.

The takeaway

The new Capital Charge Yard in Sacramento aims to improve the reliability and compatibility of public EV charging infrastructure by providing a controlled testing environment for manufacturers to validate their equipment before it reaches consumers, which could help address one of the most frustrating aspects of the EV experience.