Trillium CNG is now Trillium. Company officials simultaneously announced the name change and a partnership with California-based EV Connect, a provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo.
“Trillium has been one of the top providers of CNG services for more than 20 years, and we’ll continue leading the way in that space,” said Bill Cashmareck, managing director of Trillium. “We believe our company name should fully reflect our offerings. By adding alternative fueling solutions like EV charging and hydrogen fueling to our portfolio we are helping customers reduce tailpipe emissions. Pairing those solutions with renewable fuels reduces the total lifecycle emission profile of our customers’ fleets.”
Trillium and EV Connect are partnering to install EV charging infrastructure at three existing Love’s Travel Stops stores in California in Tulare, Ripon and Coachella. Funding support is provided by the California Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP), which invests in transportation and fuel technology innovations that helps California meet its energy, clean air, and climate change goals. The EV charging sites designed for the motoring public will feature DC Fast Charging (DCFC) at rates of 50 or 150 kW, and will offer Level 2 charging, as well. Each station can charge up to six vehicles at one time. EV Connect will operate the charge stations, while Trillium will build the sites and provide ongoing management. Construction begins this summer and is expected to be complete early this fall. The companies will install EV charging infrastructure at a future Love’s Travel Stop scheduled to open in 2019.
“Love’s Travel Stops offers ideal charging locations for EV drivers on the nation’s highway system. Their stores connect cities and towns across America and will enable EV drivers to have the same long distance mobility as gasoline drivers. As part of EV Connect’s deployment program under the California Energy Commission grant we were awarded, we are pleased to add these important strategic locations in California and Trillium’s DCFCs to the EV Connect charging network,” said Jordan Ramer, founder and CEO for EV Connect.
The expansion of EV charging stations is the latest example of Trillium broadening its alternative fuels offerings. Earlier this year, the company announced it would begin designing, building and maintaining hydrogen fueling stations. Construction on Trillium’s first hydrogen fueling station for fuel cell electric buses begins this summer for the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Santa Ana, California, facility.