FORT WAYNE, Ind. — As more truck manufacturers work to develop electric Class 8 heavy-duty trucks along the road to zero emissions, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) announce the third bi-annual Run on Less trucking demonstration series. This year’s demonstration will focus on electric trucking.
Leading up to and throughout Run on Less-Electric (RoL-E), NACFE will showcase electric trucks in everyday operation and the actions needed to accelerate their adoption. The actual Run will begin in September.
RoL-E will feature up to 10 dedicated trucks and their drivers, as well as charging infrastructure systems across the U.S. and Canada, supported by their fleets and truck OEM partners. Vehicles will range from vans and medium-duty box trucks to heavy-duty tractors, all moving freight in different duty cycles and geographic and climate areas.
“We are pleased to recognize the bold companies — Dana, Meritor and Shell — that already have signed on to support our effort by becoming title sponsors,” said Mike Roeth, executive director of NACFE.
“Run on Less-Electric will allow the whole industry to see electric trucks delivering real freight on real routes to showcase that zero-emissions goods movement is possible,” said Ryan Laskey, senior vice president of Dana’s Commercial Vehicle (CV) Drive and Motion Business.
“Shell is excited to participate in Run on Less-Electric to increase awareness of electric trucks and gather critical data to scale their adoption. We’re proud to be among the companies advancing electric truck infrastructure technology and to work with NACFE and RMI on this important effort,” said Andreas Lips, CEO of Greenlots, a member of the Shell group.
Different from previous RoL events, the technology on the trucks in RoL-E will be at an earlier stage of development and deployment, with a goal of showcasing equipment that is representative of the truck builders’ plans. Because of the limited number of electric trucks in service — many of them in pre-production mode — RoL-E fleet participants will be teams made up of the fleet and their OEM partners.
NACFE is also calling for participants in the RoL-E event. Fleets and truck OEMs can complete an application using the form available on the Run on Less website. Questions may be emailed to Dave Schaller at [email protected] or Mike Roeth at [email protected].
To complement the demonstration and data collection components of RoL-E, NACFE and RMI will host a series of virtual educational events (E-series) designed to convene industry stakeholders to discuss the “why” and “how” of electric truck deployments. Those interested in learning more about electric trucks overcoming the challenges to deploying these zero-emission vehicles are encouraged to review the E-series schedule — set to be released in April — and register to participate.
“Rather than a typical webinar where experts teach what they already know, these sessions are intended to bring together stakeholders from across the industry to support innovation, collaboration, and the acceleration of zero-emissions goods movement,” said Rob Reich, board chairman for NACFE executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Schneider.
“It’s time for all of us to more fully understand the benefits and challenges of hauling real freight with electric trucks. RoL-E will allow us to do just that,” Roeth said.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
