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Daimler Truck North America, Navistar and Volvo Group North America have formed an industry group to support the rapid development of the nation’s infrastructure for electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
The OEMs, which collectively account for about 70 percent of all U.S. medium- and heavy-duty truck sales, say the group will push to overcome “many barriers that delay access to [zero-emission vehicle] infrastructure.” The Powering America’s Commercial Transportation (PACT) coalition, as it calls itself, seeks to “strengthen[e] national climate policies to address the infrastructure needs’ of zero-emission trucks.
“Every OEM has battery electric vehicles on the market, but access to charging infrastructure is an increasingly important barrier to the widespread adoption of these technologies,” the group said. in his announcement on January 30.
In addition to OEMs, the group’s founders are stakeholders in various industries: EV charger retailers ABB E-mobility, Greenlane and Voltera. engineering firm Burns & McDonnell; Canadian electric utility BC Hydro? and industrial real estate company Prologis.
The coalition said it would be “the unified voice” for medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle infrastructure — and would not advocate specific vehicle, power generation or distribution technologies.
He noted that the electrification of transport has so far largely focused on the needs of light passenger vehicles.
The group cited a forecast by the International Clean Transportation Council that nearly 700,000 chargers will be needed nationwide to accommodate the 1 million category 4-8 medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission trucks expected to be deployed by 2030.
That would consume 140,000 megawatts of electricity each day, equivalent to the monthly energy needs of more than 100 million American homes, according to the group.
Stakeholder concerns about infrastructure costs are well-founded, according to the American Transportation Research Institute. Installing charging equipment at U.S. truck stops could cost more than $35 billion, based on a unit cost of $112,000, the nonprofit American Trucking Associations said in a study last year.
In a key first step to address the issue, the Biden administration has launched an analysis of the costs and operational barriers to charging medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks, an official from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation told ATA’s 2023 Management. Conference and Exhibition.
But the transition to zero-emissions vehicles is being delayed without developing the necessary charging infrastructure, Daimler Chairman and CEO John O’Leary warned in the statement.
“Getting rid of the commercial transportation sector — the fleets that keep America moving — is critical to meeting our nation’s climate goals,” O’Leary said. “Through PACT, we aim to accelerate this infrastructure creation so that fleets can adopt ZEVs at scale and we can all benefit from significant emissions reductions as quickly as possible.”
Navistar President and CEO Mathias Carlbaum said in the release that truck buyers need fast, reliable, affordable and convenient power to effectively deploy zero-emission fleets at scale.
“To enable their success, we must work collaboratively across sectors to deliver an infrastructure that provides access to seamless electricity and meets the unique needs of the commercial transportation industry,” said Carlbaum. “PACT provides a coordinated forum dedicated to making this vision a reality.”
Stephen Roy, president of Volvo Group North America and president of Mack Trucks, called the scale of infrastructure required to adopt medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles “unprecedented.”
“Understanding and coordination among various stakeholders is imperative to deploy chargers quickly and affordably,” said Roy. “PACT will advance best practices to streamline this complex transition while minimizing the impact on fleets, utilities and the economy.”