TeraWatt Commences Charging Center Construction Near LAX

Setting up shop at a closed Cooper Motors repair shop, charging network developer TeraWatt Infrastructure Inc. broke ground on Aug. 8 developing a charging station in Inglewood, near Los Angeles International Airport. This comes as part of TeraWatt's plan to expand their charging network not just for light-duty fleets, but for medium and heavy-duty as well.

The site is set to begin construction within the next few months and is estimated to be finished come spring 2024. Once finished, it will offer O&M services, and hold 26 Terra 184 all-in-one DC fast chargers, delivering a full charge to light-duty fleets in around half an hour due to its 180kW capacity.

“Time is money for these types of operations, and really helping push forth this transition to zero-emission vehicles coming in and out of the city of Inglewood, LAX, and ride-hail drivers all across the region,” said Neha Palmer, CEO/co-founder of TeraWatt.

The run-down repair shop will be completely overhauled, with help from engineering company Black and Veatch to allow for the charging stations as well as a driver amenities building.

This marks the result of a massive collaboration between TeraWatt and multiple partners, including the electric car ride-hail service Kaptyn and power company Southern California Edison, along with the California Energy Commission funding $2 million into it through the Charging Access for Reliable On-Demand Transportation Services (CARTS) grant.

CARTS seeks to fund and support projects seeking to promote charging solutions to high-milage transportation services.

The high traffic in the area and being only three miles away from one of the busiest airports in the world is what made this plot in Inglewood an ideal property not just to TeraWatt, but for Kaptyn and their transportation services as well.

Gury Singh, a driver success manager at Kaptyn, said how Kaptyn and TeraWatt have been cooperating together for over a year now to combine and strengthen their successes in charging solutions and EV ride services.

This site also helps with the more long-term plans that the state of California has in store.

“We’re moving towards something, the 0% emissions vehicle by 2035, we all have to do our part,” said Inglewood Councilman Eloy Morales Jr. “In a community like ours, we need to educate our young folks to help them understand and be part of that change, and without these kinds of developments, who knows they even exist?”

This was referencing Governor Newsom’s Advanced Clean Cars II plan, which seeks to rapidly reduce emissions by making all new vehicle sales in California all-electric by 2035.

Inglewood is not TeraWatt’s only location, as the company recently opened a charging center in Las Vegas, and they have expressed plans of expanding even more in the SoCal area as well as South Florida in the future.