Volvo Trucks North America has won $21.7 million in grants to deploy 70 VNR Electric trucks in Southern California for regional freight distribution and drayage. The EPA’s Targeted Air Shed Grant Program will provide $20 million, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District will add $1.7 million for charging infrastructure.

Volvo Trucks will deliver the e-trucks to Southern California fleet operators starting in 2021, following the official launch of the VNR Electric truck model later this year.

Volvo plans to leverage best practices learned from the Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project, in which the truck-maker collaborated with the South Coast AQMD and 13 other organizations to develop a blueprint for introducing battery-electric trucks and equipment into the market at scale.

Volvo will also gather deployment data to further refine total-cost-of-ownership calculations, including actual vehicle maintenance and fuel cost savings. Learnings from this project will allow Volvo Trucks to fine-tune production at its New River Valley plant in Virginia, enabling seamless integration of the VNR Electric truck into its manufacturing process.

“This grant provides Volvo Trucks with an excellent opportunity to further expedite the success of the ecosystem designed through the Volvo LIGHTS project to support the wide-scale deployment of battery-electric heavy-duty trucks,” said Peter Voorhoeve, President of Volvo Trucks North America.

Source: Volvo Trucks