Part 2: From One Bus to One City – The Scalable Electrification Playbook

The clock is ticking for LA’s 2028 Olympics, but Critical Loop believes the path to a zero-emission fleet starts small and scales smart. Our approach? A single-bus demo that proves the power of mobile charging and grid flexibility, setting the stage for a city-wide solution.

Traditional grid upgrades—think massive interconnections and fixed charging stations—are too slow and costly for LA’s timeline. Permitting delays, interconnection queues, and the sheer expense of permanent infrastructure make them a poor fit for a temporary event like the Olympics. Instead, Critical Loop is leveraging mobile battery systems, microgrids, and temporary deployments to deliver power where it’s needed, when it’s needed.

Our first step is a simple but powerful demo, planned for May 2025 near LAX. We’ll charge a Temsa EV bus using a Critical Loop mobile battery at Zeem’s aviation site, then transport the battery to one of LA Metro’s 12 designated depots, where it will power the bus off-grid. This proof-of-concept, backed by partners like Zeem and a Turkish bus manufacturer, shows that EV charging can be agile and scalable without permanent infrastructure.

This demo is just the beginning. We hope to secure funding from South Coast AQMD and the California Energy Commission (CEC), to expand to a year-long pilot for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, operating two buses with two mobile batteries and chargers. By the 2027 Super Bowl, we’ll scale to 100 buses, refining logistics and partnerships with stakeholders like the Mayor’s Office, LADWP, and private operators. By 2028, our playbook will support up to 4,000 buses, using 300-400 mobile batteries to bridge the grid shortfall.

Paul Stith, Critical Loop’s strategic advisor, puts it best: “We’ve been here before. From airport electrification to nationwide deployments, successful projects don’t start with megawatts—they start with insight, asking the right questions and driving alignment across the ecosystem.” Our approach builds on existing infrastructure, prioritizes flexibility, and uses events like FIFA as proving grounds for the Olympic main stage.