Volvo Trucks targets Californian charging corridor
In the USA, Volvo Trucks North America is working with partners in California to build a publicly accessible charging corridor for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Construction is to begin this year and be completed by the end of 2023.
The project will connect several metropolitan areas in California. It aims to remove key barriers to the deployment of medium- and heavy-duty long-range electric vehicles and accelerate widespread adoption. The Electrified Charging Corridor Project is supported by a $2 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC).
Over the next year and a half, the project will deploy high-powered chargers at several existing Volvo Trucks’ dealership locations in Central and Northern California. This will include TEC Equipment Oakland, TEC Equipment Dixon, Western Truck Center in Stockton, and Affinity Truck Centers in Fresno and Bakersfield.
The Electrified Charging Corridor Project has the goal of enabling convenient charging for small business fleets that want to avoid making major financial investments in large-scale charging infrastructure at their site, as well as fleets looking to pilot an electric vehicle through rental and short-term lease opportunities, and fleets that need an OEM-neutral location to “opportunity charge” along their route. The charging stations are “strategically located” so vehicles can travel the routes without range anxiety.
Volvo Trucks’ partners are Volvo Financial Services, Volvo Technology of America, Shell Recharge Solutions, TEC Equipment, Affinity Truck Center and Western Truck Center. In May this year, Volvo trucks opened the order books for a full range of heavy electric trucks.
“This project opens the door to a truly electrified future in freight, where medium- and heavy-duty trucks with zero tailpipe emissions are no longer limited to short hauls and return-to-base operations but can travel far and wide across the state,” explains Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America. “We are excited to begin construction of the Electrified Charging Corridor Project this year in partnership with these pioneering truck dealers to help fleets successfully integrate battery electric trucks into their operations, including our Volvo VNR Electric model.”
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