Freight electrification provider Forum Mobility said it plans to erect a new heavy-duty truck charging depot in the Port of Long Beach capable of providing high-speed charging infrastructure for hundreds of drayage trucks per day and supporting the transition of the state's drayage fleet to zero-emission.
Drayage carriers are already reserving chargers at the FM Harbor depot, the company claims, because of the strategic location adjacent to terminals.
"Securing fully-staffed and dedicated charging inside the port makes us pioneers in the space, which puts us ahead of the competition," said Emmanuel Carrillo, Chief Executive Officer at Talon Logistics, a national drayage carrier based in Chino that has already secured dedicated charging at FM Harbor. "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."
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. Charging infrastructure is a key ingredient for success: 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.
Forum's Port of Long Beach charging 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 fall of 2024. At full capacity, it will serve over 200 trucks a day.
Forum Mobility CEO and co-founder Matt LeDucq said 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," he said. "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. We make it easy to go electric."
Forum Mobility's first tranche of eight charging depots, with capacity to charge about 600 trucks simultaneously, is scheduled to come online over the next 10-20 months.
