Schneider BEV truck fleet reaches landmark milestone

Schneider National eCascadia BEV (Photo: Schneider National)

Wisconsin-based logistics company Schneider National has reported that its battery-electric (BEV) truck fleet has reached the one-million mile mark. The first BE trucks were added to the fleet in January this year.

The fleet comprises 94 Freightliner eCascadia vehicles, operating out of the Southern California Intermodal Operations Center. It is described as one of the largest BEV fleets in North America.

Specifically, there are 92 battery-electric trucks and two electric yard spotters.

The operations center features a charging depot about half the size of a football field. It includes 16 350 kW dual-corded chargers which, as the name suggests, can charge up to 32 trucks at a time. These deliver an 80% charge in about 90 minutes, which translates to a driving range of approx. 220 miles.

According to Schneider, the eCascadias have prevented about 3.3 million pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. The equivalent of remving about 330 petrol-powered vehicles from the road.

“We are driven by our commitment to sustainability and innovation to be one of the first carriers to embrace electric as a powerful solution for hauling freight,” said Schneider president and CEO Mark Rourke.

He continued: “We believe in a future where clean technology helps transform the way we move goods and reduces our environmental footprint while still delivering on our promises of efficiency and reliability for customers. This milestone is just the first of many.”

The zero-emission (at tailpipe) trucks are helping to achieve Schneider’s per-mile emissions targets of 7.5% by 2025 and 60% by 2035. The company is said to have achieved 50% of its 2025 target to date.

The trucks also help customers achieve their own emissions-reductions goals.

“Frito-Lay’s strides in eliminating Scope 3 emissions were exemplified this year through our first-ever third-party electric vehicle shipment with Schneider,” said PepsiCo Foods North America vice president and Chief Sustainability officer David Allen.

“As the first to contract transport on Schneider’s eCascadia fleet, our collaboration serves as a blueprint for how Frito-Lay and PepsiCo are working alongside our transportation partners to build a sustainable food system and reach our PepsiCo Positive net-zero emissions goal by 2040,” added Allen.

Funding for 50 of Schneider’s eCascadia trucks was provided by Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative (JETSI). This was supported by the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission.