EPRI Media Contact: Tammie McGee, TaMcGee@epri.com

CALSTART Media Contact: Jennifer Smith, jsmith@calstart.org

Pomona, CA – EPRI and CALSTART, along with funding support from the California Energy Commission (CEC) through the Electric Program Investment Charge Program, unveiled the Advanced Transportation Research Center (ATRC) last week as part of the Electric Truck Research and Utilization Center (eTRUC) initiative. The new facility—located within Southern California Edison’s (SCE) High-Power Charging Lab at their Electric Vehicle Technical Center (EVTC) campus in Pomona, California—marks a major milestone in advancing high-power charging infrastructure and zero-emission freight solutions for heavy-duty vehicles.

Leaders from the project emphasized the ATRC’s critical role in accelerating transportation electrification.

“The Advanced Transportation Research Center provides unique capabilities for testing heavy-duty electric vehicle charging,” said Watson Collins, EPRI’s Senior Technical Executive and co-principal investigator on the project. “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.”

“This new lab represents a major step forward in accelerating zero-emission freight technologies,” said Jasna Tomic, CALSTART’s Vice President (pictured on the left; photo credit: Doug Cupid Photography). “It’s exciting to see such strong collaboration across industry, government, and research partners—all coming together to drive real progress in high-power charging and commercial vehicle innovation.”

SCE, the host site partner, emphasized the importance of collaboration and innovation in accelerating electrification efforts:

“We are working with many stakeholders to make it easier for everyone to use and benefit from electric vehicles and electric technologies,” said Brian Chen, SCE Vice President of Project & Field Engineering. “The High-Power Charging Lab is set to play a big role in speeding the testing and development for heavy-duty truck charging at megawatt (MW) power levels, which will significantly reduce charging times of electric trucks.”

Representatives from utilities, research institutions, regulatory and air quality agencies, original equipment manufacturers, nonprofit organizations, and private-sector technology partners gathered to celebrate the opening and learn about the ATRC’s cutting-edge capabilities and role in supporting California’s clean transportation goals.

Background on eTRUC project and ATRC Center

(Pictured on the right is the Keysight SL1800A Series Scienlab Regenerative DC Emulator. Photo credit: Doug Cupid Photography)

The eTRUC project is a collaborative effort focused on innovation to support the deployment of high-powered infrastructure among key freight corridors to address the charging infrastructure needs required to propel Class 7 and 8 battery-electric truck adoption. The ATRC is a key component of this effort—offering a shared, high power-testing environment to evaluate charging systems, reduce implementation timelines, and inform future standards for megawatt-level charging.

The Center supports the testing of HD trucks at megawatt levels and serves as a user facility to third parties including vehicle/charging industry manufacturers.

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,
• Testing and validation of HD vehicles and their charging systems using the CCS connector,
• An open process for manufacturers to apply for testing resources,
• Hardware-in-the-loop testing and laboratory connectivity between project partners and other relevant research facilities

This year, it will deploy instruments and resources supporting 1 MW charging.

Additionally, eTRUC is helping to develop two pilot demonstration sites in Ontario and Carson, California. The data from these sites will access the benefits of high-power charging infrastructure in commercial HD trucks viewed from technical and business perspectives.

Visit the official eTRUC website to learn more about the project and fill out the contact form with specific questions.

About EPRI

Founded in 1972, EPRI is the world’s preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, with offices around the world. EPRI’s trusted experts collaborate with more than 450 companies in 45 countries, driving innovation to ensure the public has clean, safe, reliable, affordable, and equitable access to electricity across the globe. Together…shaping the future of energy. ®

About CALSTART