Forum Mobility announced its plans for a heavy-duty truck charging depot in the Port of Long Beach, California. This new depot will provide high-speed charging infrastructure for hundreds of drayage trucks per day, the company said.

"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 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.”

Talon Logistics Inc., a national drayage carrier based in Chino, California, has already secured dedicated charging at FM Harbor.

"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.”

Long Beach Charging Depot

Forum's Port of Long Beach charging depot will offer 19 dual-port 360 kW chargers and six 360 kW single-dispenser chargers. It will be 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. Forum said at full capacity, the depot will serve over 200 trucks a day. 

CARB Drayage Deadline

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 to 20 months.

Forum Mobility provides one-stop solutions for drivers and fleets to easily transition to electric vehicles by offering 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. 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.

"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," said Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association.