CBRE Investment Management is investing in electric vehicle charging infrastructure and services in the US through a partnership with Forum Mobility.
A fund managed by the global real assets investment management firm is the lead investor in a $400m (€370m) joint venture with Forum Mobility and has also led a $15m Series A funding round by Forum Mobility.
Forum Mobility said its existing seed investor Homecoming Capital also backed the Series A funding round and provided $100m to the joint venture which has been set up to provide charging and vehicle solutions to drayage truck fleets and drivers in California.
Existing seed investors, including Obvious Ventures, Edison International and Overture all contributed to the latest fundraising round alongside new investors CBRE IM, Elemental Excelerator and Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Forum Mobility said.
Forum Mobility builds and operates charging infrastructure as well as offering zero-emission electric trucks. The company is currently developing a network of charging depots around the Oakland and Los Angeles/Long Beach ports, and along common trucking routes to warehouse destinations.
Matt LeDucq, CEO and co-founder of Forum Mobility, said: “We are building a comprehensive charging network for heavy-duty trucks to make the transition to electrification. This network will need a lot of infrastructure and real estate, and CBRE IM is the perfect partner to help us build charging where it’s needed most. Fleets can bring their trucks to our network, or we can provide electric trucks bundled with charging.
“Today we can provide a Class 8 electric truck, and all its charging needs, at a monthly price that’s competitive with diesel - without the emissions,” said Matt LeDucq, CEO and co-founder of Forum Mobility. “With new rules coming soon from the California Air Resources Board, we help fleets and drivers looking to make the jump to electric.”
Robert Shaw, managing director, private infrastructure at CBRE Investment Management, said: “The transportation sector is the largest contributor to GHG emissions, and heavy-duty transportation, in particular, has long been considered one of the hardest to decarbonise.
“This marks our third investment in sustainable transportation since 2019 as we continue to execute on our strategy of investing in infrastructure assets that we believe will thrive in the new electric and digital economies. We are excited to form this strategic partnership with Forum Mobility and leverage the broader CBRE platform to supercharge the transition to sustainable, zero-emission logistics solutions.”
Rodrigo Prudencio, principal at Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, said: “To address global warming at scale, we need solutions that support the transition to electric vehicles, especially in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like heavy-duty trucking.
“Forum Mobility’s solution will help small business owners electrify their transportation fleets, remove air pollution from California’s ports, and provide the charging infrastructure needed to support the growing use of electric trucks.”
Pat Arnold of Homecoming Capital, said: “Electric trucks work. But to deploy them at scale, we need to build a tremendous amount of charging infrastructure. The Forum Mobility team has construction in their DNA – and is perfectly suited to deploy the infrastructure required to enable drayage truck electrification. We are excited to support their efforts to reduce emissions from heavy-duty trucking along California’s port corridors.”
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