Maersk, PepsiCo, others to pilot a heavy-duty EV charging corridor between LA and El Paso

Some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers will pilot heavy-duty EV charging along the “first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor.”

Global nonprofit Smart Freight Centre today announced the launch of the shipper-carrier coalition, which includes AIT Worldwide Logistics, DB Schenker, Maersk, Microsoft, and PepsiCo.

The coalition will test long-haul heavy-duty BEV operations along the I-10 corridor between Los Angeles and El Paso, Texas.

Terawatt Infrastructure will provide charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support, at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.

Neha Palmer, CEO and cofounder of Terawatt, said, “As we continue to build out the I-10 electric corridor and utilize the recent $63.8M in grant funding alongside [New Mexico Department of Transportation] to develop reliable charging infrastructure solutions, we have a historic opportunity to work with global leaders who share our vision and investment into the sustainable future of mobility.”

The point of the pilot is, of course, to learn by putting the charging infrastructure in place and deploying heavy-duty EVs in a real-life situation. The bigger-picture aim is to share learnings with other shippers and carriers so that they, in turn, also transition to electrification at scale. The shipper-carrier coalition also wants to encourage technology providers to accelerate the development of turn-key solutions for electric transport.

The launch of this coalition aligns with the federal government’s National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy, which lays out a framework for electric truck adoption and charging infrastructure deployment.

Christoph Wolff, CEO of the Smart Freight Centre, said, “Through this coalition, we seek to jointly accelerate the uptake of long-haul EV heavy-duty trucks. Together with Terawatt and other coalition partners, we look forward to accelerating freight decarbonization and proving that the electric truck corridor can promptly become operational at low volumes and rapidly scale up afterward.”

Read more: Volvo just launched an electric semi truck with 600 km range

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