The companies Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), NextEra Energy Resources and BlackRock Renewable Power have announced that they have signed a letter of intent for a joint venture: Together they want to plan a powerful charging infrastructure network for battery-electric and fuel cell-powered commercial vehicles in the USA, build and operate. The start of the joint activities is planned for this year, and the first charging stations are to be set up from 2023. The planned start-up financing is around 650 million US dollars (around 580 million euros), which will be provided equally by the three companies.
“The planned joint venture with NextEra Energy Resources and BlackRock is another building block in our global partnership strategy to expand the infrastructure required for carbon-neutral transportation. Whether in the USA or in Europe – such cooperations are essential to successfully meet the urgent need for zero-emission vehicles. Together with its two new partners, Daimler Truck North America is taking the helm and paving the way for a nationwide infrastructure for battery-electric and hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles in the USA.“ – Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Trucks
The proposed joint venture is the latest in a series of partnerships designed to demonstrate Daimler Truck’s ongoing commitment to strategically connect with leading players in the field of key transformation technologies. Daimler Truck is already working with Shell, BP and Total Energies in the area of infrastructure for electric charging or hydrogen filling stations along important transport routes. The partnerships with Siemens Smart Infrastructure, ENGIE and EV Box Group as well as PowerElectronics for battery-electric charging should help to enable economical use of trucks that are CO2-neutral in driving operation. And the planned joint venture with the Traton Group and the Volvo Group for a European high-performance charging network should also help pave the way to a CO2-neutral transport industry.
As in Europe, the lack of a publicly accessible, nationwide electric charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles, especially for long-distance freight transport, remains one of the biggest obstacles to the widespread use of electric trucks in the USA. In order to meet this challenge, the three companies want to pool their resources by founding this joint venture.
The companies plan to deploy a network of charging stations on key freight routes along the east and west coasts and in Texas by 2026. The aim here is to continue to use existing infrastructure and facilities and to create additional new locations in order to meet the expected customer demand. The focus will initially be on charging stations for battery-electric medium-duty and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, followed by hydrogen filling stations for fuel cell trucks. In order to serve the overarching goal of electrifying mobility, the locations should also be available for light commercial vehicles.
According to the truck manufacturer, the planned joint venture will benefit from the experience and knowledge of its founding members. As one of the market leaders in North America, the Daimler Truck subsidiary DTNA not only has expertise in the development of electric trucks (production start of the battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 in 2022/23) but also experience in advising its customers, the major fleet operators in North America. In cooperation with the local energy supply company Portland General Electric (PGE) opened DTNA in Portland (Oregon), the first public charging station for commercial vehicles in the USA.
Nextera Energy Resources is a significant investor in the field of electrical infrastructure and has experience in the optimization of renewable energies and network integration. Blackrock Renewable Power operates one of the world’s largest investment platforms for renewable energies. Blackrock’s Global Renewable Power Group is anxious to invest in the entire spectrum of renewable energies as well as the energy transition-supporting infrastructures. The group is involved with more than $ 9.5 billion and invests in more than 350 wind and solar projects in 15 countries and five continents.
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Who will probably pull up the network faster: Daimler with NextEra or Tesla with megachargers or even someone else?
In contrast to cars, when it comes to loading trucks, the competition seems to be on an equal footing right from the start.
Funny, a few years ago we were told that electric only makes sense – if at all – in the car sector. With trucks, however, it is impossible to be on the road electrically.
How quickly times change sometimes 😉
The average consumption of trucks – 125 kWh (according to Tesla) to 200 kWh (40 ton heavy load) per 100 km – is estimated to be around 160 kWh per 100 km.
Battery packs with 700 (800) kWh gross weigh about 4.000 (4570) kg (e.g.B. Akasol) – in the future significantly less, it is expected that the weight will be halved in the next few years.
A corresponding charging infrastructure would probably not be a problem in the USA, there is enough space and in the sunny states with desert-like areas, cheap PV systems could supply enough green electricity during the day.
At night, stored hydrogen could supply electricity for the charging stations and (waste) heat for the buildings via FC, because it is supposed to get quite cold in desert areas at night. And this hydrogen could also be obtained during the day using waste water plasmalysis in sewage treatment plants to save electricity.
The only drop of bitterness is the question: Who will be US President in 2024??