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Forum Mobility, a zero-emission trucking solutions provider, today announced the closure of a $15 million Series A funding round, and a new $400 million joint venture, both led by a fund sponsored by CBRE Investment Management, to provide comprehensive, zero-emission charging and vehicle solutions to drayage truck fleets and drivers. Homecoming Capital also participated in the Series A funding round and provided $100 million to the joint venture.
“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.”
“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 decarbonize,” said Robert Shaw, Managing Director, Private Infrastructure at CBRE Investment Management. “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.”
Currently proposed regulations from the California Air Resources Board would require all of California’s drayage fleet – approximately 30,000 trucks – to be zero-emission by 2035. Charging infrastructure is a key ingredient for success – the California Energy Commission estimates that to comply with these and other proposed vehicle regulations, California will need 157,000 medium and heavy-duty chargers by 2030.
“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,” said Rodrigo Prudencio, Principal at Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. “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.”
“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,” said Pat Arnold of Homecoming Capital.
Forum Mobility’s existing seed investors all participated in the Series A, including Obvious Ventures, Edison International, Overture, and Homecoming Capital. New Series A investors include CBRE Investment Management, Elemental Excelerator and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund.
Forum Mobility helps port communities participate in the economic and environmental benefits of the EV transition. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 7, 2022 at Hight Logistics, a small independent fleet operator in Long Beach, showcased Forum Mobility’s swift success in bringing electric trucks and charging access to ensure cleaner air and new market opportunities.
About Forum Mobility
Forum Mobility provides accessible zero-emission trucking solutions for drayage in California, from building and operating the charging infrastructure to offering class 8 zero-emission electric trucks. Forum 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, offering a one-stop solution that makes it easy for small independent operators and large fleets alike. For more information, visit forummobility.com.
About Homecoming Capital
Homecoming Capital is a climate-focused firm that invests in businesses that decarbonize the economy as they grow. Homecoming’s investments span North America and Europe and support businesses driving decarbonization of the energy, transportation, and industrial sectors. For more information, please visit homecomingcapital.com.
About Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund
Amazon launched the Climate Pledge Fund in June 2020 to support the development of innovative climate technologies and services that will enable Amazon to meet its Climate Pledge commitment of net zero carbon by 2040. This dedicated investment program – with an initial $2 billion in funding – invests in visionary companies whose products and solutions will facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Learn more: https://fund.theclimatepledge.com/
About CBRE Investment Management
CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with $143.9 billion in assets under management* as of September 30, 2022, operating in more than 30 offices and 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive.
CBRE Investment Management is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 revenue). CBRE has more than 105,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE Investment Management harnesses CBRE’s data and market insights, investment sourcing and other resources for the benefit of its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbreim.com.
