Greenlane is moving forward with its first commercial electric vehicle charging corridor that will have more than 100 chargers, modern amenities designed to increase driver comfort, resilience for high uptime and ultimately will move freight more efficiently. Greenlane is a joint venture between Daimler Truck North America LLC, NextEra Energy Resources LLC and BlackRock (through a fund managed by its Climate Infrastructure business).
The new charging corridor along Interstate 15 aims to accelerate the rollout of carbon-neutral freight transportation with initial charging locations in Colton, Barstow and Baker, California. Over the next year, further locations will be added along the corridor, extending beyond southern Nevada and to San Pedro in California.
“After considering various factors, such as truck telematics data, frequent freight routes and customer deployment strategy, the Greenlane team selected these three optimal locations for our first commercial charging corridor to accelerate the transition to zero emissions,” says Patrick Macdonald-King, CEO of Greenlane. “The launch of this corridor not only marks a critical step in addressing the urgent need for publicly available, nationwide electric charging for commercial vehicles, but will also serve as a model for the EV charging hubs of the future.”
The Colton site is planned to have over 60 chargers, including 400-kW Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC) to speed charging of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). More 200-kW DCFC charging options onsite will enable long-duration and overnight charging for heavy-duty tractors, medium-duty ZEVs and school buses. Greenlane will also deploy multiple passenger car charging stalls to support light-duty and passenger vehicles.
Later project phases will support both long-duration and overnight charging lanes for tractor-trailer combinations. The Greenlane site in Colton will also be future-proofed to accommodate the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) when commercially available.
“By using a predictive modeling tool to simulate truck traffic and energy flow at the site, we can determine how many chargers are necessary to meet the regional demand based on vehicle characteristics and departure and arrival times for vehicles hauling freight along this corridor,” adds Macdonald-King. “Our findings indicated that placing the three stations approximately 60 to 90 miles apart would maximize uptime for day-cab drivers by enabling shorter charging sessions at each stop and ultimately allowing customers to move freight confidently without any limitations.”
Each Greenlane site will have wide pull-through lanes, allowing drivers to enter and exit the property quickly and easily. While waiting for vehicles to charge, drivers can access modern facilities, with amenities including restrooms and food and beverage options.
Greenlane aims to develop a nationwide network of commercial charging infrastructure locations across the U.S. The charging sites will also serve battery electric passenger car and light-duty fleet customers and are designed to provide hydrogen refueling for commercial vehicles in the coming years.
Greenlane is targeting a spring groundbreaking on the Colton flagship site, aiming to open in late 2024. Located at the intersection of Interstates 10 and 215, the Colton hub will offer multiple ways for heavy-, medium- and light-duty ZEV drivers to charge their vehicles.