Introducing Catalyst Mobility:
Building Clean Transportation Together

Last week we were thrilled to announce a brand new chapter for our organization: CALSTART and Forth are strategically to become Catalyst Mobility™. 

For more than 30 years, CALSTART has worked alongside industry, government, and community partners to change transportation for good. Forth has pursued that same vision from a complementary perspective, building successful electric vehicle and charging infrastructure programs, advancing electrification across the United States, and expanding into emerging areas of transportation, including agriculture and micromobility. 

Together, we see an opportunity to do even more. By bringing our organizations under one umbrella, we can combine our experience and relationships to amplify our impact and help move clean, equitable, and affordable transportation forward. 

Two Organizations. One Shared Vision. 

This moment is built on decades of work by two organizations with distinct histories and complementary strengths. Forth brings deep experience in consumer engagement, equitable mobility, demonstration programs, and convening. CALSTART brings extraordinary scale, policy leadership, technical expertise, and more than three decades of experience advancing clean transportation across vehicle types, markets, and geographies. 

Our shared vision — the desire to live in a world where clean, equitable, and affordable transportation solutions move all people and goods — is why this makes so much sense. Achieving that vision requires an organization capable of catalyzing change at scale, and that’s why we’re combining. 

Building the Future of Transportation 

When CALSTART was founded more than 30 years ago, the clean transportation landscape looked very different. 

GM’s EV1 was still years away. Chrysler’s TEVan, one of the first electric vehicles in the automotive industry, cost $120,000 and traveled just 70 miles on a charge. Lead-acid batteries delivered only 50 to 80 miles of real-world range. Meanwhile, the industry was exploring methanol and ethanol flex-fuel vehicles, debating the potential of catalytic converters to reduce emissions, and considering what a zero-emission vehicle mandate in California could mean. 

In short, the future of clean transportation was anything but inevitable. That’s why at CALSTART, we didn’t wait for the future; we rolled up our sleeves and helped build it. We formed enduring partnerships with utilities, state agencies, and automakers. We brought 50 CitiBee electric vehicles from Norway to create one of the nation’s earliest station-car demonstrations. We even secured and managed the first statewide deployment of more than 500 public electric vehicle charging stations. 

These efforts were early. Some were experimental. But they helped demonstrate what was possible and laid the groundwork for the transportation transformation we see today. 

From Early Experiments to Global Momentum 

Today, the work has grown far beyond those early demonstrations. 

What began in California now reaches across the country and around the world, from micromobility and electric vehicles in every category to long-range trucks, drayage vehicles, off-road equipment, battery technologies, charging networks, and clean ports. Forty-three countries are now signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding for the Global Commercial Vehicle Drive to Zero. The British Columbia to Baja California Zero Emissions Vehicle corridor is helping create a path for electric trucks to travel the length of the West Coast. Electric vehicles now account for roughly a quarter of new vehicle sales globally, and today 93% of the U.S. population lives within the boundary of a Clean Cities and Communities coalition. 

We’re also continuing to work alongside state and local agencies to turn ambition into deployment. California’s Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive program has distributed more than $1 billion in voucher incentives, supporting more than 2,000 fleets and deploying more than 11,000 clean commercial vehicles across the state. In advance of the 2028 Olympics, we’re working to complete the UCLA wireless roadside charging project.  

The transportation transition is no longer a question of whether change is possible. It’s about how quickly we can make that change happen and how broadly we can make it accessible. 

Why Catalyst Mobility? 

That brings us to last week. The name Catalyst Mobility reflects both where we are and where we’re going. 

A catalyst sparks action. It creates momentum and helps turn possibility into progress. It brings people together, accelerates ideas, and helps transform promising solutions into practical ones. “Mobility” reflects what we ultimately seek to enable: the affordable, accessible, and sustainable movement of people and goods. Combined, the name captures our role in the transportation ecosystem and gives us the freedom to work across technologies, markets, and geographies as transportation continues to evolve. 

Most importantly, it reflects the opportunity in front of us. Communities everywhere need cleaner and better transportation options. As one organization, we can bring more people to the table faster and help make clean transportation the practical choice for more people and organizations everywhere. 

The Momentum Continues 

We come to this moment with distinct histories, complementary strengths, and a deeply shared belief in what’s possible when people come together around a common vision. Where we come from gives us the vision, where we are today gives us the capability, and where we go next, we will build together. Because every person everywhere deserves cleaner air and more accessible mobility. 

Check out catalystmobility.org to learn more about Catalyst Mobility and read our official announcement.