Freight electrification provider Forum Mobility is planning to open a new heavy-duty truck charging depot in the Port of Long Beach, Calif. This new depot will provide high-speed charging infrastructure for hundreds of drayage trucks per day, supporting the transition of the state’s drayage fleet to zero-emission.
“Forum is building dedicated infrastructure for heavy-duty trucks to transition from diesel to electricity,” says Matt LeDucq, CEO and co-founder of Forum Mobility. “With the support of the Port of Long Beach, the FM Harbor depot will provide drayage truckers a turn-key solution to comply with California Air Resource Board regulations. At Forum Mobility facilities like this one, fleets can make the transition simply and without using their own capital. Forum is building a network of charging depots at the ports, along freight corridors and near distribution centers to serve owner-operators and carriers of all sizes.”
Talon Logistics Inc., a national drayage carrier based in Chino, Calif., has already secured dedicated charging at FM Harbor.
“Talon Logistics prides itself in being a trend-set leader, and Forum is our trusted infrastructure partner,” says Emmanuel Carrillo, Talon CEO. “Securing fully staffed and dedicated charging inside the port makes us pioneers in the space, which puts us ahead of the competition. FM Harbor couldn’t be more convenient — 7,000 trucks a day go into the Port of Long Beach, and our fleet will be one of the few able to charge right next to the terminals. Forum’s turnkey charging solution allows me to focus on growing my business and serving my customers.”
Forum’s Port of Long Beach depot will offer 19 dual-port 360 kW chargers and six 360 kW single-dispenser chargers, able to charge 44 trucks simultaneously, with the ability to charge an electric Class 8 truck in about 90 minutes, depending on battery size. The depot will be fully staffed and is scheduled to be online in autumn 2024. At full capacity, it will serve over 200 trucks a day.
The site is at 260 Pico Street, adjacent to the Long Beach Container Terminal. Elemental Excelerator provided supportive funding.
The first installment of eight charging depots, with capacity to charge about 600 trucks simultaneously, is scheduled to come online over the next 10-20 months. Forum provides one-stop solutions for drivers and fleets to easily transition to electric vehicles. Staffed and secured depots offer either access to charging services, or a truck plus charging together, for one monthly fee. The California Air Resources Board is requiring all of California’s drayage fleet — approximately 33,000 Class 8 trucks — to be zero-emission by 2035. The California Energy Commission estimates that to comply with the Advanced Clean Fleet and other regulations, California will need 157,000 medium- and heavy-duty chargers by 2030.