Contact: Noah Barnes, Electrification Coalition
nbarnes@electrificationcoalition.org, (202) 461-2371
WASHINGTON—In September, the Electrification Coalition (EC) announced the launch of the Electric Freight Consortium (EFC), a forum for collaboration between the EC, private-sector partners and industry leaders representing a broad cross-section of the freight transportation sector that will accelerate freight electrification at scale. The EFC will complement its innovative freight policy and pilot work by creating a new program that brings together the full fright ecosystem —shippers, carriers, retailers and electric vehicles (EV) supply chain companies—to exchange strategies, gain knowledge and engage in actions that will support the development and deployment of electrified freight vehicles and supporting infrastructure.
The EFC is spotlighted in a new video that includes EC staff and EFC members explaining the importance of electrifying freight, which can be viewed here.
The EFC builds upon the EC’s commercial freight and goods delivery electrification pilot program. Through the pilot program, the EC convened local partners and stakeholders to identify pilot project opportunities, plan implementation, diagnose challenges, develop best practices and support successful deployment. The initial motivation for the EFC arose from the pilot programs which revealed a need for a collaborative working group to address the challenges associated with freight electrification and develop business-to-business and peer-to-peer exchanges that would help to reduce the barriers to early-stage freight electrification.
EFC members will participate in and help shape working groups to facilitate detailed discussion on topics central to freight electrification deployment strategy such as policy, infrastructure, market development and more, all while leveraging the EC’s experience in policy action and EV deployment.
The EFC will work with the EC to realize the immense benefits of freight electrification. While medium- and heavy-duty vehicles represented only 6% of vehicles registered in 2018, they were responsible for 26% of the U.S. transportation sector’s petroleum consumption and 23% of the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions. Electrification of freight operations reduces dependence on oil, makes fuel costs lower and more predictable, mitigates harmful tailpipe emissions and improves air quality in historically disadvantaged communities.
“As e-commerce booms and gas prices soar, the trucks moving our goods must be clean, efficient and domestically-powered,” said Ben Prochazka, executive director of the Electrification Coalition. “The EC is eager to offer the EFC its policy expertise and lessons learned from real-world EV deployment programs. By working together, these bold, forward-thinking companies will move rapidly toward an electrified future.”
EFC participants span the entire freight electrification space, including shippers, carriers, retailers, OEMs and freight EV supply chain providers. The consortium is thus uniquely positioned to identify and advocate for a comprehensive breadth and depth of strategies to support and scale freight electrification across the United States.
The EFC continues to recruit partners on a rolling basis. The EFC’s founding roster includes 16 industry leaders supportive of freight electrification:
- ABB
- Arrival
- bp pulse fleet
- ConMet
- Geotab
- GridBlock
- Ideanomics
- Lightning eMotors
- Lion Electric
- Nike
- Orange EV
- Proterra
- Schneider National
- SEA Electric
- Volta Trucks
- Volvo Group North America
EFC Member Statements
“Lightning eMotors has been deploying complete zero- or low-emission-vehicle solutions for commercial fleets including freight vehicles such as cargo vans and box trucks, charging infrastructure, and telematics software since 2008,” said Charlie Beckman, Regional Sales Manager at Lightning eMotors. “We have joined the Electrification Freight Consortium because it aligns with our company’s mission to provide sustainable cargo transportation as well as providing a forum for discussion and advocacy to supporting the transition to clean fleets.”
“At Schneider, we believe it is our responsibility to make meaningful change and reduce carbon emissions,”said Schneider National Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Rob Reich. “The Electric Freight Consortium will provide a great learning opportunity to advance the efforts of electric vehicles.”
“Nike is excited to join the Electric Freight Consortium (EFC) – a cross-functional group with a shared desire to push the boundaries of electric freight. The industry is in its early days of electrification, and scaling this technology will be critical to Nike’s journey to zero carbon and its mission to protect the planet and the future of sport,” said Grayson Tenney, Senior Director, North America Trade and Transportation at Nike. “With the support of the Electrification Coalition, we look forward to working in partnership with our forward-thinking peers, and can’t wait to get started.”
“A successful electric transition in freight will require efforts and cooperation across industry stakeholders,” said Charlotte Argue, Senior Manager of Sustainable Mobility at Geotab. “At Geotab, we recognize the value of a cross-sector coalition to overcome barriers, share successes and work together to make the wide-scale transition to electric vehicles a reality.”
“ConMet eMobility is proud to participate in collaborations like the Electric Freight Consortium, continuing our commitment to bring electric technologies to the commercial vehicle industry,” said Marc Trahand, Vice President and General Manager of ConMet eMobility.“We’re looking forward to working with other industry leaders to make meaningful progress toward achieving this shared goal.”
“The Volvo Group recently completed the Volvo LIGHTS project, a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership to deploy battery-electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in Southern California. We have multiple battery-electric Class 8 truck models and equipment in production, registered in communities and available to customers across the country. Today, we are actively supporting customers’ battery-electric truck deployments to realize their sustainable freight goals,” said Dawn Fenton, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs, Volvo Group North America. “The EFC is an important forum for sharing lessons learned like those from Volvo LIGHTS and other pilot projects that will help electrify freight movement and reduce transportation emissions.”
“GridBlock is launching an advanced EV charging platform based on revolutionary new technology that cuts peak loads, dramatically reduces the cost of fleet charging and makes EVs resilient to grid outages,” said Ronald Kolber, Executive Vice President at Edged Energy. “We are excited to engage with the Electric Freight Consortium to advance the EV revolution across the logistics industry.”
“Orange EV’s pure-electric terminal trucks are the most deployed heavy-duty electric vehicles in America,” saidTerry Manies, Grants & Strategic Initiatives Administrator at Orange EV. “We are proud participants in the Electrification Coalition’s work to grow even more opportunities for deployment by strengthening the nation’s EV supply chain and spurring greater adoption of advanced electric heavy-duty equipment and vehicle technologies.”
“SEA Electric’s vision is to help corporations and OEMs in reducing global pollution by offering the world’s most cost-effective and proven electric power system known as SEA-Drive®,” said Bill Williams, Vice President of Sales at SEA Electric. “By being able to join the Electric Freight Consortium, we can participate in collaboration and education of the multitude of fleets that are perfect for electrification.”
“Our collaboration with the Electric Freight Consortium is a partnership committed to the advancement of policies that will expand EV access and adoption,” said Keith Byers, Senior Vice President Operations at Ideanomics. “Together, along with other industry leaders, we will support freight professionals in overcoming the barriers to electrification. Ideanomics is in it for the long haul.”
“Lion Electric is proud to partner with the Electrification Coalition, fellow OEMs, and member organizations as an active contributor to the Electric Freight Consortium (EFC), a group dedicated to supporting the advancement of electrification,” said Nate Baguio, Senior Vice President of Commercial Development at Lion. “We value the opportunity to address the many barriers facing the industry head on, and collaborating with the EFC is a crucial step towards that goal”
“At Arrival, we believe collaboration is key in order to tackle climate change and have the radical impact our world needs today,” said Mike Ableson, CEO of Arrival North America. “We are excited to be joining the Electric Freight Consortium and working together to support businesses, governments and cities accelerate their transition to a green fleet and achieve their net-zero targets.”
“bp pulse fleet is excited to participate in the Electric Freight Consortium,” said Steve Koerner, Vice President of Policy, bp pulse fleet. “For many freight operators, the lifetime total cost of ownership is already lower for EVs than comparable diesel vehicles. The Electric Freight Consortium offers a tremendous opportunity to address non-economic barriers to electrification and to educate fleet operators about the benefits of going electric.”
“As a pioneer in transportation electrification, ABB E-mobility is excited to team up with Electric Freight Consortium members to accelerate the electrification of the freight sector,” stated Chris Nordh, SVP of Fleet and Transit for ABB E-mobility. “Reliable charging infrastructure with turn-key implementation and support is paramount in transforming our transportation hubs into e-mobility hubs, enabling freight to be moved by zero emission vehicle fleets.”
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About the Electrification Coalition: The Electrification Coalition is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advances policies and actions to facilitate widespread deployment and adoption of electric vehicles in order to reduce the economic, public health and national security risks caused by America’s dependence on oil.