TravelCenters of America (TA) officially broke ground earlier this week on one of America's first publicly accessible medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) truck charging stations that's located in Ontario, California. TA, which was purchased by BP in May 2023, is building the charging station as part of a pilot program with the California Energy Commission.
TA announced the micro-grid-powered project's construction earlier this month. Upon completion in early 2025, the charging site will include four 400kW chargers and, in 2026, a single Megawatt charger will be added that'll be capable of providing DC ultra-fast charging for up to five trucks simultaneously.
Being one of the first megawatt charging systems to go online will provide critical technological feedback for TA going forward.
The site will also feature renewable power from 250 kilowatts of canopy-mounted solar panels as well as a battery energy storage system (BESS) with up to 1 megawatt of power.
[Related: Voltera CEO: 'Megawatt charging can't come soon enough']
“This truck charging station is strategically located at the intersection of two of the nation’s busiest highway interstates and is a prime location to serve early-adopter electric truck fleet operators,” said Debi Boffa, TA CEO. “We are proud to take a leading role in bringing this infrastructure to our fleet customers and other professional drivers.”
The project's origins can be traced back to 2021 when TA, the California Energy Commission, and the Electric Power Research Institute began the charging station's early designs. Its ultimate goal is "to demonstrate the effectiveness of public-access charging for battery-electric heavy-duty trucks."
BP Pulse adds that the TA Ontario site is only the beginning of a larger MHD trucking charging infrastructure rollout. Additional projects at other Southern California locations are in the works and the development of more freight transport corridors are being examined as the demand for EV truck charging is expected to grow in the coming years.
Sujay Sharma, CEO BP Pulse Americas added that, “Charging for trucks and passenger cars at TravelCenters of America locations is a key part of bp pulse’s strategy to bring ultra-fast EV charging to major metros and along key highway corridors across the US. This project further demonstrates bp pulse and TA’s commitment to support fleet customers and is just the beginning of our endeavors in truck charging to build fast and reliable charging infrastructure to support our EV drivers.”
