Blueprint Will Identify Where EV Charging Network is Needed to Support Battery Electric Trucks
to Decarbonize Goods Movement and Reduce Disproportionate Pollution in Frontline Communities
(LOS ANGELES) – The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is one of seven recipients nationwide of
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding to accelerate the creation of zero emission vehicle corridors by
expanding critical charging infrastructure to support the growing fleet of medium- and heavy-duty electric
vehicles and reduce the disproportionate air pollution burdening frontline communities from goods
movement.
Given that goods movement is the single largest source of air pollution in Greater LA, LACI’s
Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) set a target of 40% of all short haul drayage trucks to be
zero emissions and 60% of all medium-duty delivery trucks to be electric by the time of the 2028 Olympic
and Paralympic Games. The grant DOE awarded LACI will fund work that lays the groundwork for
achievement of that goal.
In a DOE news release announcing the $688,850 award to LACI, Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, “A clean transportation sector requires vast investments across the entire industry, including to decarbonize the trucks that move our goods and building more charging ports to get those trucks from coast to coast. President Biden’s historic clean energy laws are making it possible for us to get more EVs on the road by expanding charging infrastructure into underserved communities, while reducing range and cost anxiety among drivers who want to go electric.”
“As we pointed out in our clean trucks for clean air campaign last year, goods movement is critical to California’s prosperity, and yet in aggregate is also the single largest source of air pollution in Greater LA, disproportionately impacting frontline communities near ports, freeways, and warehouses,” said LACI’s President and CEO Matt Petersen. “With this DOE grant, LACI and our TEP members will create a strategy for the deployment of infrastructure to ensure the charging network addresses the diverse needs of medium- and heavy-duty truck drivers and operators while meeting critical equity and environmental justice priorities.”
LACI’s successful DOE application is entitled First to Last Mile: Creating an Integrated Goods Movement Charging Network around the I-710 Corridor. To support the electrification of drayage and delivery trucks, LACI will create a detailed regional investment plan for innovative infrastructure solutions at industrial facilities and commercial zones along critical freight arteries feeding into I-710 freeway. This regional plan will leverage existing goods movement real estate assets (e.g. ports, warehouses, distribution centers, retail locations) to provide charging for different supply chain fleets that can expand the proportion of duty cycles completed by a battery-electric truck, and prepare local city governments to most effectively and efficiently site and permit the needed charging infrastructure.
LACI’s investment blueprint, including specific infrastructure deployments accompanied by vetted business models, will be shared with energy service providers and investors looking to lay the foundation for battery powered electric trucks in Southern California.
“We are grateful that the DOE recognized LACI and TEP’s leadership to accelerate the move toward zero emissions goods movement,” continued Petersen. “This transition is vital to the future to the economy of Southern California as well as the health of communities of color along the I-710 and other goods movement corridors by reducing the burden of toxic and cancer-causing emissions from diesel trucks.”
LACI’s application to DOE was based on the work of TEP and its members over the last 5 years, including a 2018 RFI released by LACI in partnership with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the California Air Resources Board, and California Energy Commission. Based on the responses to the RFI from private sector leaders, LACI and TEP have focused on bringing charging for zero emissions to the ports and along the ‘I-710 corridor. Last year, LACI along with the Mayors of LA and Long Beach successfully advocated for an additional $100 million for zero emissions drayage truck fueling infrastructure to be included in the California state budget.
LACI’s partners in the DOE-funded work are University of California Riverside College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology (UC-Riverside CE-CERT), East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and Gateway Cities Council of Governments (COG), with support from the City of Los Angeles and the LA Clean Cities Coalition (LACCC), and aided by Partner Fleets and Energy Service Provider and Community Advisory Groups. LACI will also collaborate with TEP members such as Southern California Edison (SCE), Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), and others in this award.
The news of LACI’s grant was part of a larger DOE announcement of $7.4 million to fund seven projects that will accelerate creation of zero emissions vehicle corridors that expand the nation’s zero emissions truck charging infrastructure in 23 states.
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ABOUT
Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy for the people of Los Angeles by unlocking innovation by working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies, transforming markets through partnerships with policymakers, innovators, and market leaders in transportation, energy, and sustainable cities, and enhancing communities through workforce development, pilots, and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI has been recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI Global. LACI has helped 375 portfolio companies raise over $1 billion in funding, generated $323 million in revenue, and created 2,565 jobs throughout the Los Angeles region, with a long term economic impact of more than $733 million. Learn more at www.laci.org.
LACI’s Market Access report identifies three core areas of cleantech from which we recruit and develop founders innovating solutions in these sectors.
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