Electric Truck Research and Utilization Center (eTRUC) for RHETTA

Project Update

From new tools to the opening of the Advanced Transportation Research Center, the eTRUC project saw much of the work over the past four years come to fruition in 2025. Visit etruc.org to learn more. Key updates and accomplishments include:

Collaborations and Community Engagement: eTRUC’s six community-based organization (CBO) partners (three for community engagement; three for workforce development) completed their one-year contract with the project. The CBOs led a Community Engagement Survey to solicit feedback through their networks and disseminated project updates to wider audiences. The Community Engagement Survey collected more than 200 responses from California residents about their attitudes towards zero-emission trucks and the electrification of medium duty heavy duty (MDHD) charging in their communities. Lessons learned from this collaboration and outreach were summarized and published in the Community Engagement and Equity Implementation Report and Workforce Development Report.

Public Access MDHD Charging Infrastructure Pilot Sites: Construction began at two pilot demonstration sites at MHX Solutions in Carson and at TravelCenters of America in Ontario, with the goal of launching in Q1 2026. MHX will host a quasi-public charging deployment site with four CCS chargers and TravelCenters will host two MCS public access chargers as part of eTRUC along with four CCS chargers as part of a separate grant. Both sites will also demonstration and the operational value of on-site distributed energy resources for public MDHD charging stations.

Advanced Transportation Research Center (ATRC): As a first-of-its-kind public user facility, the ATRC was opened in May 2025. Located within Southern California Edison’s High Power Charging Lab at their Electric Vehicle Technical Center campus in Pomona, California, it provides unique capabilities for testing heavy-duty electric vehicle charging. The lab’s plug-and-play connectivity and readiness for a high-power grid connection enables users to test charging systems in a matter of weeks, making it an important resource to advance the evolution of EV charging. The lab offers system-level functional and grid integration testing, use of commercially available test instruments designed for the SAE J1772 Combined Charging System (CCS) standards, enables testing and validation of HD vehicles and their charging systems using the CCS connector, provides an open process for manufacturers to apply for testing resources, enables hardware-in-the-loop testing, and laboratory connectivity between project partners and other relevant research facilities, and will soon deploy instruments and resources supporting MW-level charging tests.

California Modeled Energy Consumption Heatmap: In 2025, eTRUC published the second iteration of the CA Regional Freight Heatmap (Heatmap), which presents the results of modeling charging infrastructure needs. It visualizes charging needs and behavior for MDHD trucks through 2027, 2030, and 2035, highlighting specific market segments such as drayage, long-haul, and regional operations. Modeled charging sessions are translated to peak daily energy consumption at approximately 4 square mile Hex level and translated to number and type of chargers at Census Tract Level. The third iteration of the Heatmap, launching in Q1 2026, will incorporate corridor phasing, existing and planned stations, equity considerations, and hosting capacity data to refine hotspot analysis and assess practical feasibility across California.

ZEV Training Hub: eTRUC created a ZEV Training Hub, an interactive ZEV workforce and training navigation tool now linked on CEC’s website. This tool supports users seeking ZEV workforce training opportunities, including training programs, certifications, community college and university level degrees, and more. Connecting job seekers with the resources needed to advance their education and pursue a career in the ZEV job market plays a key role in supporting the growth of the industry.

Infrastructure Toolkit: eTRUC developed a comprehensive case study of the eTRUC project, offering real-world insights into the planning and deployment of high-power public access charging infrastructure for heavy-duty battery-electric vehicles. The case study was folded into a toolkit resource intended to provide key insights and guidance from leading studies, industry tools, and deployment experiences to guide public agencies, fleet operators, and private developers as they navigate the landscape of charging infrastructure development.