Finance, Industrial, Sourcing Renewables  -  October 19, 2020

Volvo Trucks granted $21M to deploy EV freight trucks in CA

Volvo Trucks North America announced Oct. 19 that it received an award of $21.7 million in grants from the U.S. EPA and South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to deploy 70 electric trucks in Southern California for regional freight distribution and drayage.

The project is expected to provide a lifetime emission reduction benefit of more than 53,160 tons of CO2. Volvo Trucks will provide VNR Electric trucks to local fleet operators starting in 2021 through the third quarter of 2022. 

Volvo Trucks also plans on using this project to develop, in collaboration with South Coast AQMD and 13 other organizations, an end-to-end blueprint to successfully introduce battery-electric trucks and equipment into the market at scale. It will also gather data to further refine total cost of ownership calculations to finetune the manufacturing process of the truck model.

Volvo Trucks is also deploying an additional 25 zero-emission freight trucks to the region through its Volvo LIGHTS project.

“This grant provides Volvo Trucks with an excellent opportunity to further expedite the success of the ecosystem designed through the Volvo LIGHTS project to support the wide-scale deployment of battery-electric heavy-duty trucks,” Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, said in a statement. “We applaud the EPA and South Coast AQMD for addressing the key issues in advancing electromobility and incentivizing technology investments in the region, and are proud they continue to trust in Volvo Trucks North America to lead the acceleration of Class 8 zero-emission vehicles.”

The EPA’s Targeted Air Shed Grant Program contributed $20 million in funding for the project, while South Coast AQMD provided $1.7 million for charging infrastructure. Both organizations have a goal of improving air quality in the Southern California region.