TravelCenters of America (TA) announced on Wednesday the groundbreaking of one of the nation’s first public electric trucks charging stations, located in Ontario, California. This innovative station will feature four 400-kW chargers, expected to be operational by early 2025, along with a 1-MW charger planned for 2026. The megawatt charger will provide ultra-fast DC charging for up to five trucks simultaneously.
This station will also serve as an innovation site, allowing parent company BP to test and demonstrate the effectiveness of new technologies. Among these technologies are one of the first available megawatt charging systems, an integrated microgrid generating reliable renewable power from 250 kW canopy-mounted solar panels, and a battery energy storage system with a capacity of up to 1 megawatt-hour.
According to Debi Boffa, CEO of TA, this truck charging station is strategically located at the intersection of two of the busiest highways in the country and is an ideal location to serve early adopters of electric truck fleets. In 2021, TA, the California Energy Commission, and the Electric Power Research Institute began designing this electric truck charging station in Ontario to demonstrate the effectiveness of public-access charging for heavy-duty electric trucks.
Sujay Sharma, CEO of BP Pulse Americas, added that this project demonstrates BP Pulse and TA’s commitment to supporting fleet operators and is just the beginning of their efforts to build fast and reliable charging infrastructure to support electric vehicle drivers. TA also plans to develop projects at other Southern California locations and is exploring the creation of charging corridors across the United States to meet the growing demand for truck charging.
