Electric truck makers Daimler, Volvo, Navistar teamed up to establish a new coalition to accelerate the charging infrastructure development for medium- and heavy-duty (M/HD*) electric trucks in the United States.
About the PACT coalition
According to the press release, Daimler, Volvo, and Navistar officially launched the Powering America’s Commercial Transportation (“PACT“) coalition on January 30, 2024. Some of its founding members are ABB E-mobility, Burns & McDonnell, Greenlane™, J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc., Prologis Inc., and Voltera.
The coalition is open to all stakeholders who aim to boost charging infrastructure development and accelerate ZEV uptake in the US. These include the following:
- Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
- Infrastructure developers
- Electric utilities
- Grid operators, etc.
More importantly, PACT’s strategy will focus on educating, advocating, and deploying electric truck charging stations without favoring any particular technology.
“The scale of infrastructure required for medium- and heavy-duty EV adoption is unprecedented. Understanding and coordination across the different stakeholders is imperative to deploy chargers quickly and cost-effectively.”
Stephen Roy, chairman of Volvo Group North America and president of Mack Trucks
Primary objective
The three major electric truck industry players primarily aim to address the numerous challenges that impede wider access to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) charging infrastructures.
It also seeks to improve the national climate policies to meet the evolving needs of M/HD ZEVs regarding public infrastructures.
The press release cited the US’ heavy focus on light-duty passenger vehicles, which do not adhere to the “same unique considerations” as M/HD vehicles. The International Council on Clean Transportation forecasts that the country will need almost 700,000 chargers to support the anticipated one million Class 4-8 M/HD ZEVs by 2030. It will apparently utilize 140,000 megawatts of power daily. Therefore, PACT aims to work on determining and addressing these challenges.
“Commercial vehicle customers require fast, reliable, affordable, and convenient power to effectively deploy ZEV fleets at scale. To enable their success, we must work collaboratively across sectors to deliver an infrastructure that provides access to seamless electricity and meets the commercial transportation industry’s unique needs.”
Mathias Carlbaum, president and CEO of Navistar
Significance
It is worth noting that Daimler Truck North America, Navistar, and Volvo Group North America cumulatively account for about 70% of the US’ new M/HD truck sales.
Therefore, their newly formed coalition will significantly encourage companies to adopt electric trucks and shift away from their gas-powered counterparts without worrying about charging infrastructures and battery range.
It can potentially address the lack of charging infrastructures, which continuously hinders widespread EV uptake.
“Decarbonizing the commercial transportation sector – the fleets that keep America moving – is critical to meeting our nation’s climate goals. But the transition to zero-emission vehicles is stalling without the deployment of the needed charging infrastructure. 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.”
John O’Leary, president, and CEO of Daimler Truck North America
Such an initiative is crucial for the US to ensure that its charging infrastructure network can accommodate the expected surge of Class 4-8 M/HD ZEVs to one million units by 2030. All that said, the PACT coalition could be a game changer for more sustainable and efficient transportation.
