In the USA, Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America and NFI Industries are planning the largest charging infrastructure project in the country to support heavy-duty electric trucks. A total of 34 HPC chargers for electric trucks are to be installed by the end of 2023.

The focus of the joint project is the greater Los Angeles area in California. Transportation service provider NFI uses more than 60 battery-electric trucks for drayage tasks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. These electric trucks are stationed at NFI’s base in Ontario, California. They transport containers between the ports and NFI’s Ontario facility.

Electrify America’s charging equipment is also set up there. According to the VW subsidiary, these are DC chargers with 150 or 350 kW. A decentralised energy supply (including a photovoltaic system) is to be set up in order to reduce the load on the grid and to power the trucks with as much renewable energy as possible.

“As NFI continues to spearhead supply chain sustainability and minimize the industry’s environmental impact, many elements need to align to ensure we continue making progress,” said Bill Bliem, NFI’s senior vice president of fleet services. “Throughout our experience, we’ve learned that having the right partners, technology, and access to safe, reliable and fast-charging infrastructure is essential to the successful implementation of EVs.”

NFI plans to convert its entire drayage fleet at its Ontario facility to e-drives. Fifty of the 60 vehicles will be financed through the ‘JETSI’ program. The remaining ten vehicles will be Volvo VNR Electric, and the Class 8 tractors will be financed through Volvo Trucks North America and the “Switch-On” program.

They won’t be the only Volvo VNR Electric in Southern California – Volvo Trucks North America today announced that the warehousing and distribution company Performance Team has ordered a total of 16 VNR Electric – the largest electric truck order for Volvo in North America to date.

electrifyamerica.com