Volvo Trucks has completed its LIGHTS program after a successful three-year project. According to Electrek, its pilot program ran from 2019 to 2022, studying class 8 Volvo VNR electric trucks traveling in California‘s South Coast Air Basin.
Even if the transportation sector produces most of the economy’s toxic emissions, it is still essential because the economy would collapse without truckers hauling freight. In order to help address the problem, certain companies, including BYD and Volvo, are developing battery electric freight trucks.
With that being said, Volvo’s “Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions” (LIGHTS) project aims to identify necessary requirements for the battery electric freight truck rollout. Alongside 14 public and private partners, Volvo and California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District launched the LIGHTs project in 2019. To determine how the partners can effectively roll out a nationwide fleet of electric freight trucks, Volvo’s VNR trucks were deployed and analyzed.
Upon the completion of Volvo’s three-year LIGHTs pilot project today, the company and its partners came up with best practices to support the national battery electric freight truck rollout, including route efficiency, charging station availability, and training and support.
Craig Segall, executive officer for California Air Resources Board (CABR), said:
“Zero emission trucks work – as this project shows – and we need strong rules, in many states and federally, promoting them. This project shows that this technology can serve business and deliver protections that will benefit the health of our communities that need it the most.”
Volvo Trucks collaborated with Reach Out to develop training materials for first responders, including the safe handling of high voltage EV components. Additionally, a manual containing the lessons learned from its electric truck pilot was also released by Volvo Trucking.
