Daimler Truck North America has announced a $650 million joint venture to develop hydrogen fueling and charging infrastructure for medium and heavy-duty commercial trucks.
Called Greenlane, the venture was started in 2022 by Daimler, utility NextEra Energy Resources and investment firm BlackRock Alternatives. It plans to add charging stations and hydrogen stations along “various freight routes,” along the coast and in Texas, starting with a location in Southern California, according to a press release by the company. Daimler.
The exact location and opening date will be revealed later, but it may not be a coincidence that the company announced its intention to “push” this new project on the same day the Senate voted to block further incentives. electric truck. via repeal EPAs stricter rules—and just days before California votes to pass its own Advanced Clean Fleet rules in favor of more electric trucks.
Daimler did not provide any specifics on the number of locations or the split between EV charging and hydrogen delivery, but it said the initial focus will be on EV charging. The company says hydrogen stations will follow, along with access to light vehicles to the sites.
Rendering of the proposed Daimler Trucks Greenlane hydrogen charging and refueling site.
Some charging and/or hydrogen sites will be located alongside existing infrastructure, while others will be new construction. Daimler is also developing “a custom, commercial ride-hailing platform” for users.
Note that Mercedes-Benz earlier this year announced its own charging network for cars and light trucks. But with the split of Mercedes Cars and Daimler Trucks, these are completely separate business ventures.
However, Daimler Trucks has taken some important steps towards the charging network for trucks. With the formalization of the Megawatt charging standard (MCS) last year, it launched one of the first megawatt charging station using the MCS connector, near the North American headquarters in Portland.
Preparing the charging station for that level of charge is an early test of what charging stations across the country will need to prepare for. For example, if 10 heavy duty electric trucks are charging at one megawatt at a large truck charging station, the total load is equivalent to a large industrial plant.
Rendering of the proposed Daimler Trucks Greenlane hydrogen charging and refueling site.
Meanwhile, Tesla is not expected to use the MCS connector and instead opt for its own V4 Turbocharger standard. Tesla sells production start in late 2022, but the company doesn’t envision a large-scale public charging network like the Supercharger network still being the trump card for Tesla’s passenger car business.
Utilities, companies and other stakeholders have allied in 2020 to create a West Coast Electric Highway for commercial trucks, so it will be interesting to see if this effort parallels it. Will electric truck drivers traveling through California, Oregon and Washington soon have more charging options that aren’t currently available?
