PACT, Utilities Team Up to Speed ZEV Infrastructure Buildout

A Freightliner eCascadia charges. (Daimler Truck North America)

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Powering America’s Commercial Transportation and the Edison Electric Institute signed a memorandum of understanding Oct. 17 to help advance the proliferation of the infrastructure required by battery-electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

EEI, a trade group for investor-owned power utilities, and PACT, a truck maker-led lobbying coalition, plan to collaborate on accelerating grid readiness for medium- and heavy-duty truck electrification. Their partnership also supports the Biden administration’s National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy.

The partners also plan to develop best practices for estimating where and when truck charging loads will materialize, power utility processes for supporting timely supplies of electricity, and state and local government policies to reduce planning costs and timelines.

“PACT’s partnership with [EEI] is an important and much-needed step toward unlocking the benefits of a commercial zero-emission vehicle future,” said Volvo Group North America Advanced Technology Policy Director Aravind Kailas.

Volvo was a founding member alongside Daimler Truck North America and Navistar Inc., now known as International Motors, when PACT launched in January. The three companies account for five of the top seven U.S. Class 8 brands by sales.

Daimler Truck is the parent company of the Freightliner and Western Star brands, and Volvo Group owns the Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks brands. International Motors is the parent company of International Trucks.

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Kailas 

“Close collaboration among medium- and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers, truck fleets, charging infrastructure developers and electric companies is vital for an affordable energy transition in trucking,” Kailas said.

By May, the coalition’s membership had grown to 24 companies, including some of the biggest carriers in North America, like Amazon.com Inc. and J.B. Hunt Transport Services.

Amazon ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America. J.B. Hunt ranks No. 3 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 3 on the logistics TT100.

The MOU sends a signal to the freight market that utilities are allies, Kailas told TT in an interview. “We can present a united front,” he said.

Since PACT’s launch, membership has tripled and the coalition has solidified a cohesive message, Kailas said. He added that more companies are poised to join, with potential partners increasingly likely to become allies as the coalition gains momentum.

Partnerships with the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation have blossomed, with PACT asked to provide feedback on plans for the National Zero Emissions Freight Corridor, he said.

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Dion 

“Medium- and heavy-duty truck fleets represent an entirely new customer segment for America’s electric companies, and we are proud to join forces with PACT to ensure their seamless integration with the energy grid in a cost-effective and reasonable manner,” said Phil Dion, EEI senior vice president of customer solutions.

“Through collaboration, we’re confident that our two industries can accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in the commercial sector and prepare the energy grid to meet the needs of tomorrow’s transportation network,” he said.

Executives at truck manufacturers have been disappointed by the pace of both the uptake for battery-electric trucks and the infrastructure buildout.

Carrier executives such as Ryder System Inc. CEO Robert Sanchez and J.B. Hunt CEO Shelley Simpson, meanwhile, have been blunt in their assessment of the size of the challenge alternative fuel trucks face.

Ryder Supply Chain Solutions ranks No. 6 on the TT for-hire Top 100 and No. 8 on the logistics Top 100.

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