Logistics provider NFI and charging network Electrify America have announced the grand opening of NFI’s new DC fast charging facility in Ontario, California. The charging hub will support NFI’s fleet of 50 heavy-duty electric trucks, which perform drayage operations in and around the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

When fully completed, the new charging facility, which was developed in cooperation with Southern California Edison and Electrify America, will offer 38 chargers, each with power levels up to 350 kW, for a total charging capacity of some 7 MW. It will also feature nearly 8 MWh of onsite battery energy storage and approximately 1 MW of solar power, helping to promote vehicle-grid integration and reduce stress on the grid by shifting energy usage to off-peak times. Microgrid functionality will enable charging resiliency for fleet operations even when grid power is unavailable.

The project was partially funded by the Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative (JETSI), a cooperative initiative among several California agencies and stakeholders. JETSI aims to deploy 100 Class 8 battery-electric trucks across Southern California to demonstrate strategies to scale market penetration of zero-emission technologies.

NFI’s drayage fleet of 50 Class 8 battery-electric trucks (30 Freightliner eCascadias and 20 Volvo VNR Electrics) is used to run routes from Ontario to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Each of the e-trucks typically runs two port pickups per day, logging an average of 220 miles driven on a single charge.

“Through NFI’s participation in the JETSI electrification project, battery-electric Class 8 trucks have proven to be a reliable and efficient solution for our drayage operations to deliver goods to our customers, many of which appreciate the zero-emission freight strategy we offer,” said Brian Webb, President of Port Services, NFI.

“Drayage trucks travel short distances between ports and regional warehouses, making them ideal candidates for zero-emissions technology, and this project in Ontario is an exemplary model for the future of freight transport,” said California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph.

Sources: Electrify America, NFI