Amazon unveils first electric seaport trucks amid push to slash tailpipe emissions
Reuters
Published May 07, 2024 02:03PM ET
Updated May 07, 2024 08:23PM ET
By Lisa Baertlein
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Amazon.com on Tuesday unveiled the first of a dozen Volvo (OTC:VLVLY) electric big rigs it plans to deploy this year to pick up cargo from the nation's busiest container seaport in Southern California.
The e-commerce giant already has eight of those semi trucks in use at the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex, where every so-called drayage truck must be zero-emissions by 2035.
The deployment is a first for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), extending its vehicle electrification projects from ocean ports to customer doorsteps. The effort is vital to the company's push to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
So far, a little more than 1% of the 23,761 trucks that serve the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex are zero-emission vehicles - including 201 electric rigs, Long Beach port spokesman Lee Peterson said.
"Heavy-duty trucking is a particularly difficult area to decarbonize," said Udit Madan, Amazon's vice president of worldwide operations.
The company has rolled out more than 13,500 Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) electric cargo delivery vans across the country since 2022. The transition to electric semi trucks will be a bigger lift, because they haul heavier loads and their batteries require more intensive charging infrastructure.
"There is no playbook," said Adam Baker, vice president of global logistics for Amazon. For now, the company is gathering data on battery performance that will help determine how many trucks will be needed.
The manufacturer of Amazon's electric drayage trucks will continue working with the company and JAB Hunt, which provides drivers for the rigs, throughout the deployment, said Keith Brandis, vice president of partnerships and system solutions at Volvo Trucks North America.
"Charging infrastructure is the long pole in the tent. We have to get that right," Brandis said.
The ports, private companies and truck owners are racing to build heavy-duty chargers to support the transition to zero-emissions vehicles.
In the near term, Amazon's electric port trucks will charge at an offsite facility operated by Forum Mobility, a startup that counts Amazon's Climate Pledge fund among its early investors.
Get The News You Want
Forum Mobility this week broke ground on a Port of Long Beach high-speed charging depot that can serve 44 trucks simultaneously. Amazon is the first customer for the site, which will also be open to other drayage truckers, Forum Mobility CEO Matt LeDucq said.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.