Electric commercial trucks are starting to take off. And that progress comes with a new slate of challenges for operators grappling with how to build out charging infrastructure for their growing EV fleets.
Given grid constraints, that’s not always possible. EV trucks are one of several energy users currently searching for space on an increasingly crowded electrical grid. And while today’s demand is small — only a few thousand units are currently operating — over half of fleets are piloting the technology, according to McKinsey.
One startup, EV Realty, is hoping to fill the void by finding free space on the grid and developing those properties into charging hubs that can serve multiple fleets. The company operates five charging hubs in California — all near warehouses, ports, and other industrial properties.
EV Realty recently raised $75 million to build additional charging hubs throughout California, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. Private equity investor NGP led the round with EV Realty’s management team contributing.
The funding will help the company build new hubs in California, including a 76-stall fast-charging site in San Bernardino, California. The site will have four “pull through” stalls with Megawatt Charging System plugs that allow a semi truck to top up without unhooking the trailer. When open, the hub should be able to charge more than 200 Class 8 trucks per day.
The company has modeled itself after Digital Realty, the real estate investment trust that builds and operates data centers. “It was a new sort of infrastructure class for real estate,” Patrick Sullivan, co-founder and CEO of EV Realty, told TechCrunch. EV Realty, he added, is “very much the same concept.”
EV Realty found the site using its in-house software, which maps the electrical grid, vehicle density, traffic patterns, real estate use, and likely customers.
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The company is searching for free space on the grid — much like data centers. However, the charging hubs’ smaller footprints, both in terms of acreage and megawatts, gives EV Realty more options, Sullivan said. “They’re looking for hundreds and hundreds of megawatts, and we’re looking for tens of megawatts,” he said.
While some fleets are hesitant to adopt electric trucks, Sullivan sees plenty of demand in the near future. “We see, frankly, more interest right now from the customers that have made the switch. They see the opportunity and want to do more.”
