With more and more drayage fleets looking to electrify in and around some of the country’s busiest ports, electrification solution provider Forum Mobility recently unveiled plans to build a heavy-duty truck charging depot at the Port of Long Beach to meet the accelerating demand.
On track to open in the fall of 2024, this planned depot will offer high-speed charging infrastructure for hundreds of drayage trucks per day, according to the company, supporting the transition of California’s drayage fleet to zero emissions.
“Forum is building dedicated infrastructure for heavy-duty trucks to transition from diesel to electricity. 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 (CARB) regulations,” said Matt LeDucq, CEO and co-founder of Forum Mobility. “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. At Forum Mobility facilities like this one, fleets can make the transition simply and without using their own capital.”
Beginning this January, the state will only allow zero-emission drayage trucks to be registered in CARB’s TRUCRS reporting system, with all drayage trucks entering ports required to be zero-emission by 2035. Some fleets are planning ahead, like Chino-based national drayage carrier Talon Logistics Inc., which has already secured dedicated charging at the depot.
“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, Talon CEO. “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 Port of Long Beach charging depot will include 19 dual-port 360 kW chargers and six 360 kW single-dispenser chargers, allowing for 44 trucks to charge simultaneously. Depending on the truck’s battery size, an electric Class 8 truck will fully charge in approximately 90 minutes. The depot is scheduled to be online by fall 2024, and at full capacity it will be capable of serving more than 200 trucks a day.
Forum Mobility’s first wave of infrastructure development, which will include eight charging depots with the capacity to charge approximately 600 trucks simultaneously, is scheduled to come online during the next 10-20 months.
“It is encouraging to see Forum Mobility investing in crucial charging infrastructure to help drayage carriers meet zero emissions mandates coming from the State of California. We appreciate their dedicated engagement with the Harbor Trucking community and are proud to have them as members of our organization,” said Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association.
