Electrified Freight Replication Toolkit: A Model to Accelerate Freight Electrification
Electrifying freight operations is a complex, time-consuming, capital-intensive, and unfamiliar challenge that can dissuade fleets from undertaking deployment projects. Our team will execute the largest-ever Class 8 electric truck deployment project in the United State at Anheuser-Busch's distribution center in Hunts Point, Bronx, N.Y., where 97% of residents are minorities, about 40% fall below the poverty line, and childhood asthma hospitalization rates are twice the national average. In the process, we will develop and deliver a scalable fleet assessment tool, an Electrification-as-a-Service model, and resources to guide and support other freight fleets to conduct cost-effective, streamlined, turn-key electric truck deployment. We will measure emissions reductions (projected to exceed 1,000 tons CO2 annually), and we will gauge customer satisfaction through an internal fleet personnel survey. Our solution's efficiency, scalability, and replicability will drive value for the advancement and acceleration of freight electrification across America.
The project team will design, employ, and publicize an Electrified Freight Replication Toolkit (EFRT), developed through the course of a cost-effective, streamlined, turn-key deployment of 25 Class 8 Anheuser-Bush electric trucks in Hunts Point.
EC's DRVE Tool will serve as a vital resource during the pre-planning phase. Primary fleet data collected from Anheuser-Busch, such as fleet composition and annual vehicle miles traveled, will be uploaded into the DRVE tool software to produce insights on suitable EV replacements, EV charging needs, emission reduction benefits, custom cost scenarios, and TCO comparisons. The project team can analyze this information and quickly identify the best paths forward.
The deployment's resulting toolkit will detail the electrification-as-a-service (EaaS) model - a single point solution for vehicles and EV charging that minimizes upfront costs and outsources the in-depth fleet planning, site assessment, engineering, grid integration, equipment installation, commissioning, and charging station maintenance. Other toolkit components will include a community engagement model, a detailed logistics analysis guide, and a recommended project sequence from pre-planning to vehicle deployment.
We will facilitate an approachable, time- and cost-efficient, easily scalable, and replicable process that will catalyze accelerated deployment of electric trucks across New York and beyond for years to come. Disadvantaged communities are often located near freight depots, major highways, rail yards, and ports. Cumulative reductions in tailpipe emissions, including GHGs and toxic particulate matter, realized from this project and its followers could yield substantial health benefits in disadvantaged communities across the country.