ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Under a new initiative, Shell Recharge Solutions North America and Penske Truck Leasing are deploying Level 2 electric truck charging stations with plug-and-charge capabilities at 23 Penske locations in California to support Penske’s growing battery-electric truck fleet.
Additional sites will be rolled out in five additional U.S. states in 2022, and more locations are expected to be added in 2023 and beyond.
“Collaborating with Shell will help us expand and diversify our electric vehicle charging network and to support the light-duty electric vans we recently introduced,” said Art Vallely, president, Penske Truck Leasing, based in Reading, Pennsylvania. “We continue to invest in growing our electric fleet and charging infrastructure to provide more options to customers seeking sustainable fleet solutions.”
To support Penske, Shell Recharge Solutions will deliver design, installation and charging network support through its SKY software platform. Shell Recharge Solutions also will provide maintenance support across Penske’s network of L2 electric truck charging stations.
“Penske’s light-duty EV expansion project demonstrates that e-mobility is a viable option that’s available now,” said Daniel Silva, vice president, enterprise accounts, sectors and decarbonization, Shell. “We’re proud to work with Penske in decarbonizing their fleets which will lead to greater value for all parties while significantly reducing emissions.”
Of the 33 Penske Truck Leasing sites that will feature Shell Recharge Solutions, 23 will be constructed in California; three in Washington state; two each in Colorado, Illinois and Oregon; and one station will be located in Reading, Pennsylvania. This will bring the Penske Shell L2 network to a total of 79 chargers.
Penske Truck Leasing operates more than 372,000 vehicles and serves customers from more than 1,300 locations in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Product lines include full-service truck leasing, contract maintenance, commercial and consumer truck rentals, used truck sales, transportation and warehousing management and supply chain management solutions.
Hydrogen Trucks
Meanwhile, Cummins Inc., a global power and hydrogen technologies leader, and Daimler Truck North America, the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America, are collaborating to upfit and validate Freightliner Cascadia trucks with a Cummins hydrogen fuel cell powertrain for use in North America. Freightliner will leverage Cummins’ fourth-generation fuel-cell powertrain.
The joint effort will support both companies’ goals to reduce emissions across product offerings and operations. Upon successful validation, the companies intend to have initial units available in 2024 for select customers.
“Cummins and Daimler Truck have a strong history of partnership, and this next step into fuel-cell electric vehicles is an exciting development for zero-emissions transport,” said Amy Davis, vice president and president of New Power at Cummins. “Hydrogen fuel cells are a promising solution for the demanding requirements of heavy-duty trucking. Our collaboration in this market is an important milestone for both companies as we work to accelerate the shift to a carbon-free economy.”
“CO2-neutral commercial transportation must not only be technically feasible, but also economically viable for our valued customers,” said Rakesh Aneja, vice president and chief of eMobility at DTNA.
“Depending on the customer application and energy infrastructure considerations, hydrogen-powered vehicles can absolutely complement battery-powered electric vehicles in accelerating our carbon-neutral journey. We are pleased to expand our partnership with Cummins to include hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric vehicles in our future portfolio. We remain focused on serving our customers by providing them with a choice of propulsion-technologies, ultimately resulting in solutions that best suit their business needs.”