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The trucking industry’s transition to electric has been moving at a snail’s pace.
Out of the more than four million electric vehicles on American roads, fewer than 1,000 are heavy-duty trucks. Why? Because charging infrastructure for big rigs is almost non-existent.
Now, the industry’s three largest truck makers - Daimler Truck, Navistar, and Volvo North America - are joining forces to accelerate the rollout of US charging infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks.
- They've created a new organization called Powering America’s Commercial Transportation (PACT), based in Washington.
- The organization’s goal is to advocate for chargers, improvements to the electricity grid and other measures needed to promote electri-powered trucks.
- PACT is open to participation from suppliers, nonprofit organizations, and other interested groups.
John O’Leary, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks, emphasized the association's goal: “Through PACT, we aim to accelerate this infrastructure buildout so that fleets can adopt ZEVs at scale and we can all benefit from impactful emissions reductions as quickly as possible.”
Big picture: Medium- and heavy-duty trucks require specialized charging stations, substantial power, and extensive planning. Nearly 700,000 chargers will be needed by 2030 to power the 1 million electric trucks expected to be on the road by 2030, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation.
But here’s the catch… Building the infrastructure is super dependent on government support, both at the federal and state levels, and that’s why these trucking titans are banding together to lobby for support.
