Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  December 1, 2020

Daimler Trucks collaborates on massive charging hub for electric trucks

Daimler Trucks North America announced Dec. 1 a new project that will result in the creation of a large public charging site for medium- and heavy-duty electric commercial vehicles, the first of its kind in the United States.

The creation of “Electric Island” is being facilitated by DTNA and Portland General Electric to help accelerate the development, testing and deployment of zero-emission commercial vehicles. The site is being constructed near the DTNA headquarters in Portland and is expected to allow nine vehicles to charge simultaneously with charging levels of up to greater than 1 MW once operational. 

The project will allow both DTNA and PGE to integrate heavy-duty charging technology into PGE’s Smart Grid and test information technology opportunities like fleet and energy management by captive solutions and services.

“In cooperation with PGE, and with the plan to expand electric vehicle charging right here in Portland to support not only our EV charging needs, but those of other drivers in the area, we are paving the way to a brighter, cleaner CO2-neutral future,” Roger Nielsen, president and CEO of DTNA, said in a statement. “As the largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, we can accelerate this shift and are excited to address, holistically, the complete EV ecosystem. Daimler Trucks has made Portland our home for the past 73 years and having been born and raised in Oregon, I am incredibly proud to help make Swan Island an Electric Island.”

The project is expected to begin operation for the charging of public truck charging in spring 2021. The project developers are also currently exploring opportunities to increase the number of chargers, execute on-site energy storage and utilize solar power generation at the charging hub in the future.

DTNA made this project possible by enrolling in PGE’s Green Future Impact renewable energy program.

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