Greenlots, a member of Shell Group, has reportedly announced that it has partnered with Volvo as part of its LIGHTS electric trucking project to install the first of four installations of heavy-duty fleet charging stations.

Both Greenlots and Volvo announced plans for installing the new infrastructure for fleet charging under a partnership with Volvo Trucks. The heavy-duty fleet electric vehicle (EV) charging installation is the first installation out of four pre-planned installations by the company for warehouses throughout Southern California. The new charging stations are specifically designed to be used by fleets to facilitate the use of heavy-duty electric trucks, such as those manufactured by Volvo Trucks, across Southern California.

Harmeet Singh, Chief Technology Officer, Greenlots, stated that heavy-duty fleets have distinct charging needs and characteristics. The SKY platform of Greenlots is created for scale and designed to deliver a charging solution to meet unique requirements of Volvo's fleet and is enhanced for power and cost.

The very first installation in Fontana comprises of two fully operational 50kW DC fast charging stations along with plans to install an additional 150kW station in the coming weeks. Greenlots’ SKY Electric Vehicle Charging Network Software would manage the stations as well as permit centralized visibility of the electric trucks and charging stations. They have the capability to handle the demand these stations put on the local grid since it relates the use of the attached facility of warehouse as well as the requirements of the fleet.

The new installations are part of the larger Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project, which focuses on leveraging a mix of both private and public funding to level up charging of fleet for heavy vehicles in the upcoming years.

Initially the program was proposed to CARB (California Air Resources Board) as a possible solution to the emissions caused from the overload of heavy trucks flowing in and out of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to warehouses throughout the Los Angeles basin.

CARB in response to the proposal by Volvo, granted $44.8 million to the Volvo LIGHTS project to match the amount of funds, approximately $45.9 million, that Volvo would invest in the project.

Source credit: https://cleantechnica.com/2020/02/12/shell-greenlots-install-first-heavy-duty-ev-charging-hub-in-fontana/